Sugar Crush
by Burgie
Summary: Vanellope's code can do so many things. One certain thing it can do causes her relationship with Ralph to change in a wonderful, although slightly unexpected, way. Jawbreaker, older!Vanellope. Better summary pending. M-rated chapters and parts are located in a separate fic titled The Next Level.
1. Nerves

It was the first Random Roster Race since Vanellope had learned that she was a princess (although she insisted on being called president) and she was understandably quite nervous. Her heart was beating so fast that she thought that it might jump out of her chest and join the candy heart citizens, an image that made her giggle. Smoothing down her princess dress for about the hundredth time that hour, she peeked out between the mint-green curtains at the assembled citizens and racers. Everything was so shiny, but looked so small from all the way up in her princess box.

"Princess, are you ready yet?" Sour Bill asked, checking in on her.

"I don't think I'll ever be ready," she admitted, aware of the blush heating her face. "I still have to do it though, don't I?"

"Yes," the sour candy confirmed in his droning voice.

"Okay," she nodded after taking a deep breath and then letting it back out. "I can do this. I just have to remember that they're my citizens and they'll love me anyway."

"Shall I introduce you to the crowd now?" Sour Bill asked, and she nodded. There was no use in putting it off, not if she was going to have to do this every night for the rest of the game's life. Sure, she wasn't going to be as enigmatic and playful as King Candy, but maybe the citizens didn't want her to be considering he'd been faking the whole thing. She just had to be herself. And what was it that Ralph had said?

"You'll be fine. Who doesn't love a brat with dirty hair?" Hearing his voice, she turned around and ran to hug him.

"You're here!" she squealed, "I'm so glad you came!" She was getting filth all over her dress, but she didn't really care. It was only going to be changed for her normal racer's outfit once the race started, anyway.

"It's your first Random Roster Race since you became princess, I wouldn't miss it for anything," he assured her, smoothing down her slightly-frazzled hair. Again, it would only be messy again soon, but it was a nice gesture all the same.

"Aww, thanks," she blushed slightly, glad that he still cared for her, and glitched back down to the ground once she heard the crowd hush at Sour Bill's voice.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he droned, "welcome to the nightly Random Roster Race." The crowd broke into more cheering, and the princess made her way to her spot just behind the curtains. She had her coin ready, which she'd taken from King Candy's stash, and she constantly passed it between her palms nervously.

"Good luck, president," Ralph whispered to her, and she instantly calmed and flashed him a grin. Judging by his response, it was a winning grin that the crowd would love.

"Thank you," she whispered back to him as she prepared to step out of the curtains.

"Presenting the race is, for the first time, Princess Vanellope von Scweetz," the sour ball announced, and Vanellope looked back at Ralph one last time before stepping out to the cheers and applause of the crowd. He flashed her a grin and a thumbs up, which settled her nerves entirely so she could relax enough to present the race.

"Hello!" she greeted everyone exuberantly after stepping out to take in their adoring cheers. She waved politely at first but was soon relaxed enough to start feeling the hype of the crowd. "This is the real ruler of Sugar Rush speaking, and I'm gonna do things a little differently now." This statement was taken in by confused expressions all round, until she laughed. "Just kidding! As usual, all of you will have a coin from your previous winnings, even if you were just an NPC at the time. I've got mine!" She showed them the shiny gold coin, resulting in more cheers, before pulling a lever to set up the race entry trophy. Still grinning, she tossed her coin onto the small launcher and watched with satisfaction as her name appeared on the screen. Now she was in familiar territory.

After everyone else had thrown their coins into the trophy, Vanellope glitched onto the ground and used the same strange power to change into her ordinary racer clothes. After slipping on her goggles, she sat in her kart and got into position for the race. Seeing Ralph waving from the crowd, she felt like she was home. And then the race began.


	2. Date

The day finished as it always did. Vanellope crossed the finish line in first place and, at the same time, the Nicelanders lifted Ralph to throw him off the roof. Through the front of his game cabinet, he could see Vanellope receiving her trophy and 'fist-bumping' the front of her own cabinet for the gamer to return. And then, when she saw him, she waved.

Vicki the gamer noticed the wave and glanced back to see just what or who the princess of Sugar Rush was waving at. All she could see was the Fix it Felix Junior game.

"Do you have a crush on the wrecking guy?" she asked, feeling only slightly foolish for talking to a game character. Ralph wanted to see the answer but, before he could, the Nicelanders gave an almighty heave and sent him hurtling to the mud below, where a cake awaited him. So he didn't see her blush and nod.

When the arcade closed for the night, Vanellope went into Fix it Felix Junior with a mission in mind. After admitting to the gamer that she liked Ralph, she'd been advised to take him on a date. Luckily, Taffyta had helpfully informed her that 'go out with him' implied asking him on a date and then taking him somewhere at a certain time. She'd said that it should be somewhere that they both liked to go and that it should be fun. She'd seen a sign for karaoke at Tappers while she'd been walking through Game Central, and she was well aware that Ralph frequently visited there.

So she summoned up the courage to knock on the door of his shack. The dump didn't even smell that bad anymore. Had it been moved? It must have been for this new part of Niceland to have been built.

"Oh, hey, kid," he greeted her as the door swung open. She stopped chewing her lip nervously for long enough to flash him a nervous grin. At least now he had his answer.

"Hey, you big lug," she replied, colour rising to her cheeks. "I've come to ask you something."

"Oh yeah? Like what?" he asked, leaning against his doorframe and then straightening up when the shack threatened to topple. She giggled.

"I'd like you to go on a date with me," she finally said, attempting to strike a regal pose.

"A date? Are you sure you know what that is?" he asked, tilting his head to the side curiously.

"Yes, of course I do. Well, Tafytta told me but now I know," she confirmed, smiling proudly.

"Well, if you're sure," he teased. "Where and when will it be?"

"Tappers tonight at seven when the karaoke starts," she recalled, smirking as his face changed from happy to mildly afraid at the mention of karaoke.

"Karaoke? But I can't sing," he protested. "I spend my time roaring so anything I sing will sound like Bill singing." She dissolved into a fit of giggles at that.

"Oh, you can't be that bad," she giggled. "Just come tonight and we'll see."

"Alright, I'll see you at Tappers tonight at seven," he agreed with a nod. "Should I dress up?"

"I'm not going to," she assured him. "What's the point in dressing up when we're just going to look silly singing karaoke?" He smiled at her.

"As you say, president," he nodded, and bowed. Unable to help herself, she pressed a kiss to his forehead and ran back to her own game to wait for their date time to arrive.


	3. Karaoke

AN: Thanks so much for all the reviews, guys! I've finally caved and watched the deleted scenes on youtube so I'll be sure to update more regularly from now on.

* * *

"It's rude to keep a lady waiting," Vanellope spoke from outside Ralph's shack. "Hurry up, we're gonna be late! Even Felix and Calhoun left half an hour ago." Finally, the door creaked open and Vanellope jumped to her feet. She was wearing a brown skirt that was between her normal skirt and princess dress in length, as well as a butter-yellow t-shirt under her mint-green jacket. She'd even tied her hair up with a bow after brushing it as neatly as she could get it.

"Are you sure we should go? I look ridiculous," Ralph complained.

"Oh, c'mon, you can't look any worse than you usually d-" her words cut off into giggles as she saw him with his gelled-back hair and leather jacket, complete with jeans. She didn't want to know how they'd managed to make clothes big enough for him.

"See? I look ridiculous," he complained. "But you don't look much better."

"What's that supposed to me- hey, put me down!" She squirmed in his grip as he lifted her off the ground to bring her up to his eye level.

"I will as soon as I'm done making you look better," he declared, and set about wrecking her perfectly-put-together outfit. The bow she'd tied her hair back with fluttered to the ground in two pieces, the larger of which he scooped up to tie around her head like a headband after he'd patted her hair back down so it touched her shoulders. Finally, he removed her jacket.

"Do I look good enough for you now?" she asked, feigning hurt even if it had felt good to have her appearance 'fixed' by him.

"See for yourself," he offered, picking up a piece of broken mirror and showing it to her. She had to admit that she did look pretty good with her hair down, and without her hoodie to get in the way.

"Thank you," she thanked him quietly. "I suppose I do look better now. But you still look absolutely ridiculous." She burst into laughter again at his expense, but this time he merely removed his jacket in response.

"Better?" he asked. She tilted her head to the side, considering for a moment, and then jumped onto his shoulder to fix his hair.

"Now you look better," she declared, standing proudly with her hands on her hips. His hair was now no longer gelled back but stuck up into crazy spikes. Noticing some residual gel on her hands, Vanellope wiped them on Ralph's trousers.

"Well, now we're probably officially late so let's get going," Ralph decided, folding his jacket over one arm and tucking her hoodie into the chest pocket of his blue check shirt. She nodded eagerly and walked beside him to the train, where they rode it to Game Central and from there walked across to catch the train to Tapper's.

Quite loud music greeted them even before the tavern came into sight. Vanellope's eyes shone with excitement, a sight which Ralph couldn't help but smile at. She might act like she was older a lot of the time, but she was still just a kid. He couldn't let himself forget that, no matter how fun this night ended up being.

"Ralph, what song do you wanna do? I think we should do a duet," Vanellope called to him, standing on a barstool with a pen in hand as her eyes scanned the list of songs.

"You can choose," he decided. It was going to sound horrible either way.

"Ooh, okay. I think we'll sing this one," she finally decided, stabbing her finger at a song name and writing her's and Ralph's names on the line beside it. Grinning, she hopped down to the ground and dragged Ralph over to one of the booths along the walls.

"Hey, buddy, nice to see you here! I didn't think you'd show up," Felix shouted over the music from the booth behind the one they were sitting at.

"Yeah, well, little miss cavity here dragged me along," he replied, not having to raise his voice at all to be heard above the music.

"You're the one who agreed to it," Vanellope reminded him, lightly punching his arm.

"Anyway," Ralph continued with a roll of his eyes, "Did Calhoun drag you along too?"

"No," Calhoun snorted. "He told me to come along. I tried to resist but, well, you can't say no to him when he puts on that puppy-eyes face."

"So what did you sing?" Vanellope asked, almost sitting on the back of the booth to see them.

"He could get me to come along but not sing," Calhoun informed her. "So he sang this song about an uptown girl. I'd never heard it before but I guess it sounded nice. It didn't really suit his voice, though." She chuckled and Ralph wished that he'd been there to hear that. It certainly made him feel a whole lot better about this whole thing with the knowledge that Felix wasn't much of a singer either.

"Well, me and Ralphie are doing Don't Stop Believin'," Vanellope announced.

"We are?" Ralph asked, turning to look at her.

"Well, you told me to decide," she argued, poking her tongue out at him. "I'm told that it's a very popular duet song."

"And who told you that? Taffyta?"

"Obviously." Ralph smirked at her response. Now he just had to hope that Taffyta's advice would work. She was probably hoping that as well, now that he thought about it.

"And next up, we've got Ralph and Vanellope singing Don't Stop Believin'," Tapper announced. "If that's the Ralph and Vanellope I know, I sure hope my tavern can stand up to it." Everyone laughed, and for once Ralph wasn't offended by the joke at his expense. Maybe Vanellope's friendly teasing had helped with that... but she was still just a child. They made their way to the karaoke machine and Vanellope grabbed the pink microphone for the girl lyrics before throwing the other one to Ralph. To his dread, it was the boy's turn to sing first. Taking a deep breath, he began.

"Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world, she took the midnight train going anywhere," he began, cringing slightly as he didn't realise that a few words had to be drawn out. This was going to be a long night, or at the very least a long song...

"Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit, he took the midnight train going anywhere," Vanellope continued. Quite a few of the patrons cringed as she hit the high notes quite horribly. Ralph even thought he heard a glass shatter.

As the song progressed, though, Ralph found himself being caught up in it. It probably helped that Vanellope was having so much fun, if the way she was jumping around exuberantly was any indication of how she was feeling. When they both had to hit the high notes, however, every glass in the place shook and this time there were definitely a few shattered glasses to clean up.

"Well, that was Ralph and Vanellope," Tapper told the patrons as soon as they'd departed the stage, laughing. "Can everyone still hear?" There were murmurs of agreement, as well as a few patrons shaking their heads as though to clear blocked ears.

"See, I told you it'd be fun," Vanellope giggled as Ralph took a seat again. She was a little breathless and sweaty from jumping around, and Ralph had to remind himself several times that she was just a little girl and that he'd get into trouble if he tried touching her as he would an older woman.

"I don't think the patrons would agree with you," he commented, eliciting a giggle from her.

"Don't worry, I've heard worse in the shower block," Calhoun assured him. Imagining that, both of them burst into laughter.

"Or in Gene's apartment block. Did you know that he's a fan of singing along to musicals?" Felix added, resulting in more laughter.

"Stop, I can't breathe," Vanellope pleaded breathlessly, clutching her stomach as tears of laughter rolled down her face.

"It's true," Calhoun nodded solemnly. "I bet that Turbo guy probably liked singing badly as well."

"Sour Bill did say that King Candy tried to learn the song that was always playing so he could sing it as a kind of national anthem," Vanellope recalled, and her laughter increased as she imagined that. And then she got the hiccups.

Walking back to Sugar Rush that night, Ralph shifted the sleeping Vanellope from his shoulder to his hand. She'd worn out so easily, further reminding him that she was just a child. And yet she felt so warm and comfortable in his hand. There was still a warm patch on his shoulder from where she'd been sleeping. He hoped that he wouldn't have to take her back to the castle. If she woke up and wanted him to stay, he couldn't say no to her. To his relief, Sour Bill was waiting for them at the train.

"I hope you had a nice night," he commented as he helped Ralph lower Vanellope into one of the train cars.

"We did," Ralph agreed. "I know she definitely did, anyway."

"That's good," the butler smiled. A smile did not look right on him. "Hopefully she gets a good night's sleep before the races tomorrow."

"And I'd better get back to my own game," Ralph nodded. "Tell her that I said goodnight."

"I will," Sour Bill promised. With a nod and one last glance at Vanellope, Ralph suddenly remembered her hoodie and withdrew it from his pocket to put over her like a blanket. That done, he smiled and walked back to his own game.


	4. Jealousy

**Long time no update but hopefully this longer update makes up for it. I've had the start of this chapter in my head for weeks now, and the idea for it since I found out about the deleted scene. It does so much for this ship, at least in my opinion. So onto the chapter!**

* * *

It was weeks before Vanellope saw Ralph again. He no longer came straight from his game to hers after closing time, which was worrying as he'd never missed a day before unless he had a Ban-anon meeting. Bowser had assured her that the day for the meetings hadn't changed from Friday, so that couldn't be the reason. So where was he?

"Felix! Hey, Felix!" she called, seeing the handyman walking across Game Central to Hero's Duty. He stopped and turned to scan the crowded station, but he couldn't see her over the heads of all the other taller people. So she jumped onto an unsuspecting Luigi, jumped off his hat, and made her way in this manner across to Felix.

"Oh, Vanellope, there you are. I didn't see you before," he chuckled, smiling down at her.

"Well, duh, everyone here's too tall," she observed with a roll of her eyes. "Anywhere, where's Ralph? He hasn't been to the castle for so long it's like the big doofus forgot where I lived. He hasn't forgotten, has he?" Her good humour turned suddenly to worry as she remembered that memories could be erased quite easily.

"Oh no, of course he hasn't forgotten you," Felix assured her, crouching down to be at eye level with her. "In fact, he's always wondering what you've been up to. Just the other day I asked him why he hadn't been visiting you and he made some excuse about it being weird now."

"Weird?" Vanellope echoed, and scoffed. "He's the one who's being weird! So where has he been?"

"Well, it's not really a game for little kids but it's called X-treme E-Z Livin' 2," Felix told her. "I probably shouldn't have told you that but who can say no to that face?" She'd been widening her eyes and pouting, which Taffyta told her worked on anyone with a heart. She'd have to thank her for that later.

"And where is that?" she asked, ignoring how her question made Felix uncomfortable.

"It's right up the end," Felix informed her, gesturing with his arm. "Keep going until you find Litwak's Laptop. I have to warn you, though, Surge-" But she was gone. "-won't let you through," he finished, and sighed. Surge was not going to be happy about this...

"What do you mean I 'can't go through'?" Vanellope demanded, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring up at the blue Surge Protector. He simply blinked at her, wearing the same expression he wore when dealing with anyone.

"I'm sorry but you don't fit the criteria," he explained, glancing at his clipboard.

"But I'm not a glitch anymore," Vanellope demanded him. "I'm not gonna mess the game up, whatever this weird game is."

"It's your age that's the problem," Surge informed her. "Litwak's Laptop can only be accessed by those characters eighteen and over. You're simply too young."

"I'm only going in to find Ralph," Vanellope told him, looking up at him with her big hazel eyes. "Please let me through? I promise I'll find him and be right back, nobody ever has to know I was in there." But Surge wasn't moved by her begging.

"No," he said firmly, and she pouted at him but walked away. Now she knew why Ralph hated him- he was as emotionless as Sour Bill! Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the blue man disappear into the floor. She took her chance and ran, giggling wildly as the gate flashed red but let her through.

Litwak's Laptop sure was a weird game. It looked a lot like Game Central, only more like the code room back at her castle in her game. Various icons floated around, and for a moment she felt overwhelmed. But then she saw the title of the game she was looking for and ran up to it. It was quite high up so she had to jump to reach it, but as soon as her fingers touched the icon she was sucked into the game. It was unsettling to say the least.

"Hey, are you even legal?" a tall blonde girl demanded of her. But just at that moment, Vanellope spotted Ralph. And her heart sank. He was having the time of his life dancing with another girl.

"Ralph!" she called, and he turned to look at her with shock breaking into his fun. "I came to find you but clearly you don't care about me anymore!" Tears filled her eyes as she ran back out of the club and ended up in a darkened street. A few people walked around, but they were all older as well. She was so lost, so little, so young. She didn't belong here, didn't belong in Ralph's world. What was she thinking?

Back in the club, Ralph was still staring at the place where his best friend had previously been standing. What was she doing here? Hadn't Surge tried to stop her? And how had she found out where he was? But then he heard a familiar scream and ran for the door, shaking off his Like Its as he went.

"Vanellope!" he called, finding himself on an empty street. She was gone. Roaring, he slammed his fists into the ground. It buckled under his fists, but he also caught a waft of peppermint. Looking at the source of the smell, he found a crushed peppermint. And there, a few more steps away, was a small pile of sprinkles. She was leaving a trail for him, though whether or not she intended it was debatable. He took off at a run, following the trail of sprinkles.

"Get your hands off me," Vanellope growled, struggling in the grip of the guy who'd picked her up. She doubted whether she could stand on her own in her new form, but she still didn't want this guy to take her away from Ralph.

"C'mon, sweetie, you'll like being with me for the night. I get all the Like Its," the man said in an attempt to placate her. But she wasn't having any of it. She hadn't wanted it to come to this, but it was her last resort- she opened her mouth and bit down hard on his arm.

Hearing the shout, Ralph ran towards an alleyway and skidded into it, resisting the urge to punch one of the buildings when he saw the traitor with his hands on Vanellope.

"Dunderson," Ralph snarled, stomping towards the dreadlocked teen. "She's just a little girl, how dare you touch her like that!"

"Ain't nothing little about her," Dunderson corrected him, and Ralph saw the truth of his words when he pulled him up by the back of his shirt.

"Vanellope?" he questioned, unsure if the raven-haired girl on the filthy mattress truly was the princess of Sugar Rush.

"Yeah," she nodded, getting up and wiping her mouth. She looked a little unsteady.

"What did you make her do?" he demanded of Dunderson.

"Nothin, I swear! _She_ bit _me_," he emphasised, gesturing to the bite mark on his arm. "I was jus' tryin' to get her to have a good time, y'know? I thought she was just one of the girls in the game!"

"I suppose I'll have to believe you," Ralph decided, dropping him onto the mattress before helping Vanellope to stand on her own two feet. "I'm just glad it was you who found her and not someone else. Another guy might've given her something to drink first."

"I thought she'd already had something to drink, by the looks of her," Dunderson shrugged. Glaring at him, Ralph stomped away with Vanellope held as close to him as he could manage.

"Now, do you mind telling me just how you managed to look like that?" Ralph asked, gesturing with his hand to encompass her more womanly figure once they were back in Litwak's Laptop.

"I'm not even really sure," she responded, looking at her longer limbs. "I was just upset that you were with another girl and I was thinking about how if I was older, I could be with you like that. And then I glitched and suddenly I looked like this."

"That power of yours is really something," Ralph mused. "You're older now, you don't look like a kid anymore. So now you could get into Litwak's Laptop if you wanted, but don't ever go back into that game."

"I won't if you won't," she promised, smiling.

"Deal," he nodded, and shook her hand. Her hand fit better in his now. "By the way, how did you get past Surge?" She giggled as they moved out of the game and back into Game Central.

"She ran past me," Surge informed him, and Vanellope poked her tongue out at him. Laughing, Ralph walked the princess back to her game. Sure, Litwak's Laptop was weird and scary, but being walked back to her game by Ralph made everything worth it.


	5. Overprotective

**I really let my headcanons show in this one. I see it as King Candy was Vanellope's dad and he died as a part of her backstory. Then when Turbo came along, he took control of an 'unused' avatar and convinced Vanellope to tell him the secrets of the game before he made her a glitch. I might write a separate fic about that, or maybe it'll show up somewhere else. Anyway, this chapter was inspired by Feel This Moment by Pitbull because my sister said it makes her think of this ship. Next chapter or the one after will be T, just a warning.**

* * *

Sour Bill was being unreasonably sour. Sure, Vanellope may have been young once, but not anymore!

"Bill, I swear, when I figure out how to get past this gate," she growled, her slender fingers lacing around the golden bars. They were made of some strange material not seen in Sugar Rush before, but the more important thing was that they were unbreakable. She'd once succeeded in snapping one of them, but then it had flickered back into position just like... oh.

"Princess, you can come out to race in the morning but that's all," Sour Bill informed her. "Unless you can make yourself look young again, I don't trust anyone outside of Sugar Rush."

"Not even Ralph?" she asked, glaring down at him where he stood beside her.

"I don't trust you around him," Bill informed her, and she crossed her arms over her chest with an angry huff.

"You're not my dad," she muttered in a tone almost as sour as her butler.

"I know but he told me to look after you," Bill explained. "He never prepared me for this but luckily Felix knew how to keep you in."

"Why is everyone so against me being older now?" she argued, turning and stomping back to the castle. She tripped, still not used to her longer limbs, and then pulled herself to her feet and ran at a somewhat safer pace back to her bedroom, where she locked herself away and proceeded to cry on her bed.

"Hey, Van." Vanellope brightened slightly at hearing the voice of her best friend.

"Hey, Taff," she greeted her, sitting up and wiping her eyes. At least she didn't have make-up to smudge, but Taffyta handed her a box of tissues anyway.

"I heard that you were different now but I wasn't expecting this," Taffyta commented, gesturing to Vanellope's womanly figure.

"Yeah, I'm still not used to it," Vanellope agreed. "Bill thinks I don't know why he's keeping me locked up but he doesn't hear what some of the gamers talk about." The two girls giggled in shared mirth at Bill's lack of knowledge.

"He's so overprotective of you," Taffyta sympathised with her. "It's not like you're going to sleep with Ralph right away, is it?" Vanellope shook her head even though she still wasn't sure about that.

"Well, I want to wait until I know this body more but at the same time, I don't know how long I'll have this body or even how to go back to my old one," she told her. "I think the second one's winning out, though."

"Do you think Bill will let Ralph in?" Taffyta wondered. "I don't think the gates will be able to keep him out anyway."

"They will," Vanellope assured her sadly. "The gates are made of the same stuff Felix's hammer is made of. I just wish I could get out of here so I could at least talk to Ralph."

"Have you tried glitching out?" her friend suggested. "I mean, I know it probably shouldn't be called that anymore but you can still do it, right?"

"Of course I can, it's my power and how I managed this," the princess informed her. "I don't know if I can hold this form while glitching, though. It's a good thing I've got the excited glitching under control." Taffyta giggled, snorted, and then they were both laughing. By the time they'd got themselves under control, their faces were red and they could hardly breathe from laughter.

"Thanks for coming over, Taff," Vanellope grinned at her. "I needed a good laugh."

"And now you need a good sleep," Taffyta suggested. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye," Vanellope smiled softly, wiggling her fingers at her as her friend walked out the door, and then she lay back on her bed and let the exhaustion from crying and laughing take her off to sleep.


	6. Escape

Vanellope stood at her window and stared longingly at the rainbow road. She thought that she could see someone walking down it. So she squinted and leaned a little further out the window. Was it...? Yes! It was Ralph! Jumping for joy, she ran down the stairs to the castle entrance and, instead of stopping at the gates, glitched through them. In her excitement, she didn't even worry that her adult form wouldn't hold. But it did and she'd never been so happy. Grinning and hugging herself, she sighed happily and then ran to meet Ralph on the road.

"Ralph, you came to see me!" she exclaimed when they met on the road. She almost ran into him but stopped herself right in front of him. The strain that running put on her legs made her sag forward and he caught her, pulling her to his chest and embracing her in a warm hug.

"Well, after Felix let slip that Sour Bill was keeping you locked up, I figured I'd come try to break you out. After all, Mario can't get all the glory for rescuing princesses," Ralph replied, and she giggled and rested her head on his chest.

"He said that he didn't trust me around you, like the first thing on my mind would be doing something inappropriate. Well, it was, but I slept on it and now I just want to be your girlfriend. I missed spending time with you," she explained, and she could feel him tense and then relax.

"Of course you can be my girlfriend," he assured her. "I liked you before this but I felt awkward because you were so much younger than me."

"Is that why you went to that other game?" she asked, looking up at him. He nodded.

"It's funny that it ended up solving the problem anyway," he remarked. "Now I can be your boyfriend without everyone looking at me weird. Did you know that when Felix is alone, people look at him weird too?"

"Why would they do that?" Vanellope asked, stepping away slightly so she could without having her face pressed into his chest.

"Well, Tamora's game is a lot younger than ours," he tried to explain. "Even our games have a bit of an age difference but not as big as the one between Fix-it Felix Jr and Hero's Duty. That game's practically a baby and ours is like an old man."

"So people make fun of him because Tamora doesn't have as much experience as he does?" Vanellope figured. The sergeant's real name felt strange in her mouth.

"Pretty much, yeah," Ralph nodded. "Obviously, though, people don't say anything when she's around or she'll drag them back to their game and make them need to regenerate."

"You could do that if anyone said anything about us," Vanellope figured. "You're about as tough as she is."

"Yeah, but I've already got a reputation for being the bad guy. I don't need to make those fears a reality," he said, and she nodded in understanding.

"Well, we won't need to worry about that now anyway because we both look like adults," she assured him. "The only thing getting in our way is Sour Bill. He doesn't approve of our relationship at all."

"He's just being an overprotective father figure," Ralph defended him. "After our first date, he was really concerned with making sure you got home okay."

"It's sweet of him," Vanellope nodded. "Dad told him to look after me when he knew he was dying. He told me that yesterday after he locked me in."

"I guess I'll just have to prove to him that I'm worthy of your affections, then," Ralph guessed. Vanellope blushed, giggled, and threw her arms around him. It was her first real kiss and was quite amateur but it still felt right.

"And then you'll have to promise to bring me home at a certain time and look after me," she continued. "It's so romantic. I mean, before I hated all girly things but maybe it wasn't just my appearance that was affected when I glitched myself older."

"It sure looks that way," Ralph remarked at her smiling, blushing appearance. "You look more like a girl now, too."

"Hey, if it makes our relationship okay, I'm definitely okay with it," she grinned. He nodded and together they walked further into the game, not to the castle but to the candy tree forest.

"The arcade's closed today for some reason. Apparently it's a public holiday," Ralph explained to her after she questioned why he was in her game so early.

"Good, that gives me more time to spend with you," she decided, snuggling closer to him on the branch they were sitting on.

"That's what Felix and Tammy are doing," Ralph nodded. "As for Gene, well, he's celebrating with an open bar. Not that he needs a reason to do that or anything."

"I wonder what everyone else in my game is doing," Vanellope wondered. She had the perfect view of her game from here, but the only thing she was focused on was the guy sitting beside her.

"Well, Taffyta's probably just finished doing her make-up, Rancis is still doing his hair, and everyone else is probably working on their karts," Ralph guessed. Vanellope laughed at that.

"Taff wears a lot of make-up but she's a nice girl," she defended her friend. "As for Rancis, yeah, he uses so many hair products. Why does a guy even need so many?"

"Yeah," Ralph chuckled. "If I wasn't with you today, I'd probably be at home counting bricks or at Tapper's. Maybe I'd meet up with another villain and have a chat, who knows."

"I'd be working on my kart," Vanellope added. "But now my kart doesn't really need working on. The one we made was perfect."

"I'm just glad I was able to make something for once instead of wrecking everything," Ralph mused. "It's the first time I've ever done that." She nodded and they sat in silence for a while, just watching the odd kart go by on the track. They both flinched when Rancis crashed, but he was okay. The only thing hurt was his ego.

But all good dates have to come to an end, especially if the girl has a father figure who disapproves of her dating.

"There you are! I told you not to leave the castle," Sour Bill scolded her. Vanellope poked her tongue out at him and climbed up the tree a little higher. Seeing her game, Ralph chuckled and grabbed hold of her so he could climb up higher. At the very top, on a branch that was quite thin, they looked down on Bill with smug satisfaction. But then Vanellope felt a familiar urge and noted the striping of the branch they were on.

"Double stripe," she said apologetically, and they crashed to the ground. "Bye, Ralph!" she called to him as Sour Bill dragged her away, and he held up a hand and waved to her. He'd talk to Bill later regarding his relationship with the princess.


	7. Gentleman

**I feel like Ralph is so out-of-character here but don't worry, they'll go back to their normal selves soon. They're just treading lightly around Sour Bill so he doesn't take their dating privileges away from them. And gosh I love the idea of the girl having a 'lock up your daughters' kind of father. I'm a real romantic at heart.**

* * *

After consulting Felix for guidance on how to "court a woman the old-fashioned way", as the handyman had put it, Ralph waited until the following afternoon before he approached the castle to speak to Sour Bill. After being received with a glare, Ralph felt for a moment how Surge felt whenever he glared at him. But it soon passed.

"I've come to ask permission to date your daught- er, Vanellope," Ralph explained at his empty expression.

"Come on," Bill sighed, and allowed the wrecker to walk through the gates and into the castle, where they met in the throne room. Vanellope was sitting on her throne (she was still working on getting a desk put in like a real president) and waved to Ralph, smiling and blushing like an innocent girl.

"So do I have to do something to prove myself to you? Felix just said to come talk to you and ask your permission to date Vanellope," Ralph started, feeling a little awkward. Was he supposed to wear a suit for this?

"Well, I think saving her life justifies that you won't hurt her. Apart from that, though, make sure she's back in her game at least ten hours before the arcade opens," Bill set out for him.

"So no sleepovers?" Vanellope asked, and Ralph had to resist the urge to laugh. The question seemed so innocent where Vanellope was anything but.

"Not just yet. When I change my mind, I'll tell you," Bill assured her. "And remember, Ralph, she may look like she's old enough to take to '18 and over' games but she's not used to her new body yet."

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere near Litwak's Laptop again," Ralph assured him. "So is that all? Can I take Vanellope out somewhere today?"

"Please?" Vanellope pleaded.

"Vanellope," the sour candy warned her, but he gave them permission to go out.

"Yay! Thanks, Bill!" Vanellope squealed, and ran to throw her arms around Ralph. He had to admit, her throwing her arms around him felt so much better than her lying on his shoulder.

"So where should we go today?" Ralph asked as soon as they were away from the castle. "By the way, did you ever manage to glitch back into your younger self?"

"Yeah, I just had to focus on racing," she nodded. "I still prefer this form, though. It makes me feel more like a president, y'know?"

"Yeah, I can see how it'd do that," Ralph nodded.

"Isn't it weird that Bill treats me more like a child now than he did when I looked like a child?" Vanellope commented. "It's so unfair."

"Well, he doesn't hear what some of your gamers talk about," Ralph reasoned. "He just starts the race and then disappears."

"If he heard what they said, he'd probably somehow make me unable to hear them," she figured with a shrug. "They talk a lot about love and kissing and there are a lot of words that Tamora uses when she thinks I'm not listening, and one that everyone here is interested in is what two adults do when they're alone in bed together."

"But I'm sure Bill knows about that last one," Ralph noted, very aware of the fact that she'd sidled a little closer to him.

"He did say that he didn't trust me around you," Vanellope smirked. "He'd probably know if we did do that."

"He's probably watching us right now," Ralph added. "Do you want to go out of here, maybe go somewhere else in Game Central? We could go to the park in my game."

"Good idea," she nodded. "C'mon, let's go. I don't want Sour Bill spying on me and then telling me what I should and shouldn't do."

They met Surge on their way out of the game, and both groaned as the blue man appeared.

"Ah, it's my two favourite characters," he commented drily. "Names?"

"You know who we are but not our names. How original," Vanellope scoffed. "Vanellope von Schweetz."

"Wreck-it Ralph," Ralph answered, not even bothering with sarcasm today. He'd been stopped on the way in as well.

"Where are you coming from?" Surge asked, and again Vanellope rolled her eyes at the sheer stupidity of this man.

"Sugar Rush, duh," she replied.

"And where are you going?" the blue man continued, ignoring her sarcasm.

"Fix-it Felix Jr," Ralph informed him.

"Anything to declare?" Vanellope thought she detected a hint of something more in his eyes, as though the answer would mean something.

"Yes. Tell Sour Bill that we're just going to the park and nothing more. No funny business," Ralph assured him, having seen the look as well.

"You can go," Surge informed them, putting away his clipboard. "I won't stop you on the way in. Remember to bring her back, Ralph."

"Yeah, yeah, I will," he promised, taking Vanellope's hand and walking with her across Game Central.

"I knew he was a spy for Sour Bill," she stated triumphantly.

"Surge lives to make me uncomfortable. It'd be strange if he wasn't a spy," Ralph reasoned. As they neared his game, he was prepared to see Surge again but thankfully he made his way to the station without incident. Like a gentleman, he let Vanellope climb into the traincar first before getting in himself. They wouldn't both fit on one seat because the train had been built with Nicelanders in mind, but at least it was a short trip to the station. Acting the gentleman again, Ralph helped Vanellope out of the car and they walked hand-in-hand towards the park.

"Ralph." Being greeted by the bartender was not something that Ralph had wanted to happen today.

"Gene." He stated, crossing his arms over his chest. Vanellope mimicked his action even though she'd only seen this man a few times before. But if Ralph hated him, so did she.

"You're not a spy for Bill, are you?" Vanellope asked, her tone icier than she'd intended.

"Are you kidding? Gene takes alcohol as payment and there's none of that in your game," Ralph scoffed.

"Don't wreck the park," Gene grunted, and made his way back to the apartment. Vanellope poked her tongue out at his retreating figure and Ralph laughed at her.

After accidentally wrecking several park benches by attempting to sit on them, Ralph settled for sitting on the grass with Vanellope on his lap. The racer leaned against his chest and from her hair he could smell peppermint and everything sweet. The candies had survived the transformation, as had everything in her appearance. Idly, he untied the licorice in her hair and let it fall down so he could run his fingers through it.

"That feels nice," she commented, and turned around so he could comb his fingers through her hair more freely without his chest getting in the way. It had the added advantage of showing the blissful expression on her face.

"I can tell," he replied, and he leaned in as she leaned in so they both met in the middle for a kiss. He hadn't noticed before but now he realised that she tasted like vanilla. He liked vanilla. Maybe she tasted like vanilla all over, but there'd be time for that later. For now, he was content to be as gentle as he'd ever been with the one girl who could manage to make him be gentle.


	8. Youth

**Well this went in a different direction than I was originally intending. Hopefully you can guess the song I used in this, it's one of my favourites.**

* * *

After their first date was reported to be good by the several spies, Sour Bill loosened the restrictions that the two had.

"You can take her into different games now if you wish," he allowed the wrecker, much to the couple's delight. "You still have to bring her home before the arcade opens, though."

"I didn't even know we weren't allowed to go to other games at first," Vanellope commented as they walked through to Game Central.

"It was probably implied," Ralph shrugged. "So now that we have more freedom, where do you wanna go today, Miss President?"

"Let's so what normal teenagers do," she figured. "I only know what the gamers say, though, which isn't much. But I did hear a song once from one of their phones." Being so close to the screen, the winning Sugar Rush racers heard what sound reverberated through the glass.

"Oh, this should be fun," Ralph mock-groaned. "What did the song say?"

"Something about a full moon and drinking warm drinks and a record machine and bands," Vanellope listed, her voice taking on a dream-like quality as she tried to remember. Ralph could hear her humming the song, possibly trying to remember the lyrics.

"Oh, we just got that song installed," Yuni informed her. The tall DDR character had wandered over after hearing Vanellope's humming. For a character in such a loud game, Yuni had good hearing. But she was probably programmed that way.

"Really? C'mon, Ralph, let's go!" Vanellope urged him excitedly, grabbing his arm and running over to Sugar Rush. Ralph stumbled after her, hoping that he wouldn't break too many things and cause Surge to stop them from going into a game that Vanellope was obviously very excited about.

Surge, luckily for Ralph, was elsewhere scolding Sonic for going too fast ("But I just gotta go fast!"), so the two of them managed to catch the train into DDR without slowing down. Vanellope continued jumping around excitedly even once she was on the train car.

"This is it, this is the song!" she gasped, and Ralph smiled at her enthusiasm. The song, he had to admit, was a little gentler than most songs played on this game. When he heard the lyrics, though, he blushed.

"Do you hear songs like this all the time?" he asked the racer as she pulled him onto the dance floor.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Litwak's too nice to do anything about it unless they get too noisy."

"Lucky you get to hear it," Ralph admitted. "In my game, we don't have any music. I only ever hear it when I'm in your game or at Tappers when the juke-box is going."

"Poor you," she grinned, and stood on her toes to kiss him. "Doesn't this song just make you wanna kiss a lot and do other stuff?"

"What other stuff?" he asked. He hoped that she knew what she was talking about.

"I don't know," she admitted, chewing on her bottom lip. "But I do know that it's about getting closer and 'getting rowdy', whatever that is. Is it a full moon tonight?"

"I don't know, the arcade closes at sunset," Ralph reminded her. "Do you want me to go back to my game and find out?"

"No," Vanellope decided, grabbing hold of his shirt. "I don't want you to go. If you go, it means our date's over and it's only just started."

"Whatever you say," he smiled, and leaned in for another kiss.

By the time Vanellope got tired of dancing and decided that they should return to Game Central, the place was quite deserted.

"It's so weird being in here alone," Ralph commented, his voice echoing.

"So empty," Vanellope agreed, looking around. And then a devilish grin spread across her face and she jumped on her boyfriend.

"What are you doing?" he asked, managing to steady himself before he could crash to the ground and create a large crack.

"We're alone, silly," she reasoned. "We've got the whole place to ourselves so we may as well kiss and do other things in that song."

"Do you want me to go back to my game with you and see if it's a full moon?" Ralph asked.

"Yes," the racer nodded, and moved around so she was on his back in a piggy-back fashion. "Onwards, my chump!" He chuckled and walked towards his game, grateful that he wouldn't have to duck to get through the gate to his own game.

Back in Fix-it Felix Jr, Ralph walked up to the penthouse and onto the balcony.

"This was where I realised that you weren't a glitch," he commented, looking up at her and then across to her cabinet, which was bathed in moonlight. She nodded and rested her head on top of his.

"I look older on the cabinet," she figured, moving her hands up to run her fingers through his hair. It was so thick and fluffy for a guy who'd lived most of his life in the dump.

"Still younger than you look now, though," Ralph agreed, smiling at the feeling of her fingers moving through his hair.

"Is that the kart I was programmed with?" she wondered, peering closer.

"I guess so. Looks suspiciously like King Candy's, though, doesn't it?" he agreed.

"It was the real King Candy's," Vanellope informed him. "I was programmed to have inherited it after he died."

"Better than my backstory," Ralph scoffed. "I lived in a stump and got angry when it was moved."

"Anyway," Vanellope continued, "shall we continue to the roof? I can't see much from here."

"I suppose," Ralph shrugged. "Hang on tight, the stairs to the roof are too small for me to climb so I'm gonna climb the building."

"Okay," she nodded, and leaned her head on his again while leaning forward and clinging to him tightly. Once he was sure that she was safe, Ralph began his climb. Vanellope was in awe of the muscles she could feel moving against her body. Her thoughts turned to a different place and she hoped that he couldn't feel her blushing.

At last, Ralph hauled himself up on top of the apartment building and together they turned to look out of the front of the cabinet. They were greeted with the sight of a waning moon, which secretly relieved both of them.

"Well, we can't get rowdy if it isn't a full moon," Vanellope figured. "I guess we'll just have to wait until it's a full moon again."

"You don't have to do what the song says," Ralph counselled her. "We can do that when we're both ready. But for now, we can do other things. Tonight at DDR was fun."

"Yeah, it was," she agreed, and smiled at him from where he'd set her down.

"We have to get back down now so I can take you all the way back to your game," he said after several moments of standing in silence.

"But you look so tired," Vanellope observed, seeing him yawn.

"I'll be alright," Ralph assured her. "It doesn't take much thought to wreck things. We just might have to have a date later tomorrow or not at all."

"It was worth it," she smiled softly, a blush colouring her cheeks. Dancing, alone-time, and then what passed for stargazing in the arcade certainly made a good date.


	9. Dance

**Well it's about time I did some more writing and I managed to just about write myself to sleep (I began to get sleepy around the dancing part) so I'd say that's a good thing. Now, I have a poll on my profile that I'd like you to vote on concerning a future story. As for this chapter, it was inspired by several songs- the first was Popular from Wicked, followed by a little Heart Attack by Demi Lovato, and then Suit & Tie by Justin Timberlake, then the final few lines were heavily influenced by Everybody Talks by Neon Trees. The next chapter will involve another one of my favourite Nintendo ships but it won't go into too much detail. It involves another princess/villain couple from the Marioverse, see if you can guess it. Also there was a little Tangled-esque scene in here. Now onto this chapter!**

* * *

With the following night date-free due to the late night stargazing, Vanellope had the time to ask Taffyta to come over for a sleepover. Her friend agreed all too readily and promised to bring her make-up, which was quite frightening to the tomboyish racer.

"I thought you'd never have a night free," the small blonde commented as she walked into Vanellope's bedroom with her large pink make-up case. She threw it and it landed on the bed with a muffled thump.

"Well, Ralph and I were out late last night so tonight he's just gonna rest," the president shrugged. She'd changed into a loose pink singlet top and baggy grey tracksuit pants, feeling like relaxing after a long day of racing. Even her hair was tied back very loosely in a ponytail that draped black strands of hair over her shoulders.

"And you get to spend time with your friend," Taffyta grinned. "So, shall we get started with our slumber party?"

"I've never had one, at least one that I remember, so sure," she nodded, and climbed onto her bed to sit with her legs crossed yoga-style.

"Oh, good, so we can have it my way," the blonde grinned, and leaped onto the bed with her. "I was thinking that first we could talk about boys and then watch some movies, then do some dancing and then maybe some makeovers."

"If you say so," Vanellope laughed nervously. What had she gotten herself into?

"So I already know that you like Ralph," Taffyta started.

"Love," Vanellope corrected, holding up a finger.

"Yes, yes, you love him. So what's it like being with him? Is he different when he's with you compared to when he's with others?" the blonde asked, leaning forward in her eagerness.

"When is Ralph ever with others?" Vanellope chuckled. "He's always been with me except for when he went to that other game and when he has Bad-anon meetings. But it's kinda different being with him as a boyfriend rather than just friends. We can hold hands and kiss and stuff, but we haven't done that other thing yet." She began to twist a few strands of hair between her fingers unconsciously.

"You'll get there eventually," her friend reasoned. "Is he a good kisser?"

"He likes kissing me," she admitted, blushing. "He's still kinda nervous to be with me when there are others around, though. But last night he was just being his usual self and he was so comfortable with me. I almost didn't wanna go home but he took me back because if he didn't, Bill would've stopped him from seeing me and we can't have that."

"Bill's so overprotective of you," Taffyta commented with a roll of her eyes. "It's not like Ralph's gonna hurt you or anything. I mean, I don't know him but he seems gentler than he looks."

"He is," Vanellope agreed with a smile. "He'd never hurt me but if someone tried to hurt me, he would hurt them." They both giggled at that.

"So who do you like?" she asked her friend. "I've talked about Ralph enough for now. Surely you must like someone."

"Well, I have been spending more time with one boy in particular," Taffyta admitted, pulling her hat off and fingering it.

"Ooh, who is it?" Vanellope asked, leaning towards her.

"Rancis," the strawberry-themed racer admitted, holding her hat over her face to hide her blush.

"You two would make a good couple," Vanellope figured. "I can see you two together like the cool kids who come into the arcade. Holding hands, sharing a soda or maybe a candy bar as well."

"But do you think he likes me?" Taffyta worried, looking uncertain for the first time in her life.

"Why wouldn't he? Taff, you're a good racer and you have a good sense of style, plus you're lots of fun to be around. Just ask him, you might be surprised," she urged. "I didn't expect Ralph to agree to go on a date with me either. In fact, Tappers has karaoke tomorrow night. That was my first date with Ralph."

"Karaoke in a bar? That's so unfitting for us," Taffyta giggled. "It worked for you and Ralph but karaoke's fun and you two are a fun couple. But Rancis and I are different."

"You're more high society," Vanellope figured. "You two should go to a diner or a restaurant or something. Or I could give you the castle for the day."

"But then where would you go?" Taffyta wondered. "I know, maybe you could go on a romantic date."

"We've been to a park, isn't that romantic enough?" Vanellope argued. But Taffyta shook her head.

"Go out dancing! You're a president, that means you should go dancing. And I don't mean dancing like in DDR, I mean like at the wedding reception when Felix and Tamora got married," Taffyta explained.

"Okay, if you say so," Vanellope relented. "I think I know the perfect place, too." As she said that, she looked out the window towards Diet Cola Mountain.

* * *

The next day, Taffyta insisted on making Vanellope look perfect for her date.

"But Taffy, I don't like wearing dresses," she protested, wincing as the smaller racer tightened the bodice. She could barely breathe in this thing, how was she supposed to dance in it? It was nice, though, she had to admit- a mint green colour, floor-length and with enough fabric to swish around as she moved.

"Too bad, it looks great on you," Taffyta smirked, jumping down off the stool she'd been standing on and walking over to the dresser to retrieve a hair-brush as well as some cosmetics for hair and make-up.

"I don't know much about doing hair and make-up but shouldn't it be done before I'm wearing my dress?" Vanellope wondered, dreading the tugging that would come with getting her hair done nicely. Taffyta had tested some hairstyles on her the night before at their sleepover.

"What, and then ruin it when you put your dress on? No, this is the only good way," Taffyta informed her, draping a towel over her shoulders so her dress wouldn't be ruined by any stray hairspray or make-up.

"If you say so," Vanellope allowed, and sat on a stool so Taffyta could get at her hair and face easier. She winced and groaned until the brush glided smoothly through her hair, and then she felt an uncomfortable pulling sensation as Taffyta pulled her hair up and twisted it around into a few different up-styles before deciding to go with a down one. Vanellope saw some similarities between this outfit and the one for her first date, with her hair held back by a ribbon acting as a headband. And finally, Taffyta turned her around so she could work on her make-up. The president didn't like the feeling of it on her face but now she wanted to look nice for Ralph. He made her want to act like a girl.

"And done," Taffyta finally announced after what felt like forever, stepping back to admire her handiwork. "You look beautiful, Vanellope."

"Okay, I'll go have a look," Vanellope chuckled, standing up and walking over to the mirror in her bedroom. She was shocked at the sight that greeted her- with make-up and her hair slightly curling over her shoulders, she looked more womanly than she ever had before. She reached a hand up to touch her face, trying to determine if it was real. She hoped Ralph would like it.

"Ralph is here," Sour Bill informed her, interrupting her daydreaming.

"Oh shoot, really? I have to go, thanks Taffyta!" Vanellope called, waving to her friend as she ran towards the throne room. It was difficult to run in high heels but at least she'd got some practice in them the night before. There hadn't been much sleep, though.

Ralph was waiting for her, just as Bill had said he was. He looked quite dressed up in a suit and tie, but Vanellope thought that it suited their date.

"Wow," he gaped at the sight of her. "Now I really do feel like I'm dating a princess."

"President," Vanellope corrected him, but inside she was cheering. He liked it! He really liked it!

"So where are we going?" he asked, taking her hand as they walked out of the castle. "I thought we'd be staying in the castle considering what we're wearing. You did say to wear something formal."

"The castle? That's too boring for us," she grinned deviously. "I have a better destination in mind." And with that, she held out her hand and a racer hiding behind a gumdrop threw Calhoun's cruiser to her. "Come on, I'm taking us to a place with the best view of my game."

"Somehow I get the feeling Sour Bill wouldn't approve of where we're going," Ralph commented, stepping onto the cruiser and feeling just a little unsafe.

"That's exactly why I chose it," Vanellope grinned, and leaned forward so the cruiser would fly where she wanted it to go.

A few minutes later, they'd arrived at their destination and Vanellope stepped down onto the Mentos before carefully helping Ralph down as well. She heard a faint splash and eruption from below, but aside from a little extra steam nothing too bad happened.

"So we're going to dance on the top of a volcano," Ralph summed up, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Uh huh," she nodded, and led him into the middle where the Mentos were thickest so there was little danger of accidentally falling through. There, they got into a popular dance position and began swaying to music that wasn't playing. Vanellope took the opportunity to lean against him as he danced, enjoying the motions of his body. At one point, he decided to try twirling her. It worked and she only felt slightly dizzy as they returned to dancing normally.

As the date continued, their dance became less formal and more intimate, at times even playful. The hem of Vanellope's mint-green dress brushed across the Mentos and in time they were dancing with their feet in the steam rising from the volcano. Ralph began to worry that they were creating a disaster but Vanellope was having too much fun to notice or even care. It was the girliest she'd ever been but with Ralph, she liked feeling like a girl.

"I wanna try just spinning," Vanellope decided after some minutes of dancing close together and swaying to nonexistent music.

"I'll catch you if you fall," Ralph promised, and stepped away from her. Vanellope felt oddly cold without Ralph's arms around her, and she decided then that having his arms around her was the best feeling in the world. But she stored that thought away for later use and instead tried spinning on her own. Her hair flew into her face many times but she didn't care, having too much fun feeling free. And then she finally tripped on her dress and Ralph caught her by the hands, pulling her close to his body. Laughing breathlessly, she kissed him. He responded with passion and for the first time she felt his tongue in her mouth. They kissed for some time, smearing her lipstick over both their mouths, until the volcano gave a worrying rumble and several more Mentos splashed into the boiling cola.

"Let's go back to your place," Vanellope decided, and ran to the edge of the Mentos where the cruiser was still floating, waiting for them. Ralph followed, feeling more in love than he'd ever felt before.


	10. Recovery

**And now we return to the cleaner story. For those who missed the last chapter, it's in a separate story called "The Next Level". In this I kind of reference It'll Be Okay from Friendship is Witchcraft, it's kinda fitting for the relationship between these two. Oh, and I'll explain how Skrillex got into the arcade in another story but basically it involves technology. He gets the movies from Litwak's Laptop. I've always wanted to use him in a story. Now onto some fluffiness!**

* * *

The morning brought with it pain, but no regrets.

"Good thing the arcade's closed today," Vanellope muttered after hissing through her teeth in the pain that moving caused. She wanted nothing more than to stay cuddled up to her boyfriend. But at least the upper half of her body was fine to move, so she rolled onto her side and propped her head up on her hand, black strands of hair falling through her fingers. She watched him sleeping, the slow rise and fall of his chest and the very faint whistle of his breathing. A smile grew on her face.

Finally, Ralph woke up and stretched before pulling his bedmate closer to him. It was quite similar to a cat drawing a soft toy to its chest, and it made the president laugh.

"I didn't wake you, did I?" Ralph worried, startled into full alertness by her laughter.

"No, no, I've been awake for a while watching you sleep," Vanellope admitted, a twinkle of mirth in her eyes.

"That's a little creepy," Ralph commented, but she could tell that he was joking.

"Is not," she retorted, her cheeks flushed with laughter and embarrassment.

"So if I was watching you sleep, you wouldn't find it creepy?" he hypothesised. She shook her head.

"I'd feel safer with you watching me sleep," she admitted with a grin. "Bill might complain, though."

"Bill," Ralph suddenly realised, looking at their surroundings and then the girl in his arms. "I wasn't supposed to let you sleep outside your game."

"So?" Vanellope scoffed, laying her head on his chest. "I'm a grown woman, he can't control me."

"But he can control whether or not the guards let me through to see you," he reminded her. She had to admit that he was right.

"Well, what do you suggest we do then?" she asked. "Do we pretend that we were in Diet Cola Mountain this whole time?"

"He'd see us come in, not to mention other characters will see us," Ralph observed. "There's no way out of this one."

"Well, I can't exactly move much at all so it's not like I can walk back to my game. So we may as well stay here all day," Vanellope suggested, chewing her bottom lip in an old nervous habit.

"Was I that rough?" Ralph winced. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It was totally worth it and don't worry, I'll be fine. The arcade isn't open today anyway and by the time I can walk again, Bill will have calmed down for sure," she assured him, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. If his was messy, she could only imagine what her hair would look like.

"Well, if we're going to be staying here all day, I'd better get some supplies," Ralph decided, gently lowering her back onto the mattress and stepping over her to put his clothes back on.

"Like what?" she asked, fighting the urge to sit up with the reminder of how much it would hurt.

"Food, drinks, maybe some board games," he figured, raking a hand through his hair and magically making it fall back into its regular style.

"Bring a TV and some DVDs," she suggested.

"I would but Skrillex lives so far away," Ralph reminded her. "I don't wanna leave you alone for too long."

"Alright," she sighed, flopping back onto the bed. "I'll just have to make do with boring old board games, then."

"Hey, don't knock Monopoly," Ralph replied, and she shook with laughter.

For the rest of the day, the pair of them played Monopoly on the mattress while sharing chips, biscuits and soda. It was a little difficult to play the game while lying down, but somehow Ralph managed to win after hours of gameplay had amassed.

"I beat a president," he gloated after Vanellope declared herself bankrupt.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," she smirked. "But because you won, you owe me something."

"And that is?" he asked, feeling just a little nervous under her smouldering gaze.

"Go get some DVDs," she ordered him, still holding his gaze. If this worked, she could use it on him every time she wanted something. "You have power in this shack so get some DVDs and on your way out, ask Felix to bring over a TV and set it up." When she bit her lower lip, Ralph caved to temptation and kissed her before starting out of his shack again. Victorious, Vanellope lay back again and wondered what movies Ralph would bring back.

"Oh my land, what happened in here?" Vanellope managed to sit up just slightly, holding the sheet up to her chest so Felix wouldn't see too much of her.

"You didn't hear last night?" Vanellope laughed, and the handyman entered the bedroom with a severe case of the honey glows. "Ralph and I decided to take our relationship to the next level. Now he's out looking for DVDs so I don't get bored."

"And why would you get bored? Why would you have to stay in here all d- oh," Felix's blush intensified as he realised why the president couldn't move. She giggled at him.

"Now, set up the TV and be on your way," she suggested. "I'm sure Ralph doesn't stick around for too long when you're recovering after a night with your special lady."

"True," Felix admitted, and pulled his cap lower to hide his blush. Smiling, Vanellope listened to him set up the TV before he walked out the door, leaving the shack in silence.

After what seemed like hours to the bored racer, Ralph finally returned with some DVDs and carried his candy-coated lover out to the living room where a lounge and now TV were set up.

"So, what DVDs did ya get?" she asked as he settled her down onto his lap. He'd wrapped her in the sheet for lack of comfortable clothing.

"Well, Skrillex doesn't have as many president movies but there were a whole lot of princess ones. I did find one movie, though, that you might like," Ralph replied, and brought out one called "The Princess Diaries".

"I dunno," Vanellope considered, chewing her lip. "It sounds kinda too princessy for my tastes."

"It's about a girl who doesn't know she's a princess and then she finds out and has to learn how to be one. It's funny, I promise," Ralph assured her, although she still looked sceptical. "Look, just get it out for me and watch it." Any DVD from Skrillex was in a clear plastic case and none of the discs had pictures on them, but they were all very high-quality. Even Calhoun was impressed.

As the story in the movie progressed, Vanellope found herself becoming more interested in it. She giggled at any of the funny parts and even looked genuinely upset when the princess was bullied by her peers or shunned by her friends. By the end of the movie, she couldn't stop smiling.

"Okay, you were right- I did like that movie," she admitted as the credits rolled. "It was really good."

"Well, there's a sequel," Ralph told her, and the eager look on her face told him to put it on next. Chuckling, he handed the case to her and slid the disc into the DVD player (also got from Skrillex) before handing her the remote to press play.

"Do you think I have a heart of gold?" she asked Ralph after the 'crowning glory' song.

"Of course," he replied without hesitation. "You're absolutely amazing, even if you were a little brat when we first met."

"And now that I'm bigger, what am I?" she asked, lowering her eyelashes to look at him lovingly.

"The most amazing, beautiful president ever," Ralph complimented her, and she felt her face heat up in a blush.

"And you're a big softy," she replied, grinning and wrapping her arms around him. They kissed a few times and then settled back in to watch the movie.

At the end of the day, they'd watched every movie that Ralph had brought from Skrillex's. Of course, they'd spent much of one of the more romantic ones kissing and almost gone too far until Vanellope admitted that she was too sore to do anything like that, but by the end of the day they were satisfied and very comfortable.

"I almost don't wanna take you back to your game," Ralph admitted, running a hand through Vanellope's long black hair. He'd managed to gently comb out any tangles while watching movies.

"I know but I do have to race," she sighed. "I almost feel like we should do something else before I have to go because we know I won't be able to leave my game for a few days at least."

"Well, we can at least sleep in a fixed bed," Ralph figured, glancing at the ruined bed. "I'll get Felix to come over and fix it. You don't mind being seen in a sheet, do you?"

"I'll live," she replied with a shrug. "Go get Felix so we have an actual bed to sleep in." He obeyed her after kissing her a few more times, and in about ten minutes the bed was once more whole and Felix left, commenting that the whole place smelled like vanilla.

"I can't imagine why," Ralph joked, and Vanellope giggled even as she blushed. And then they fell asleep in each other's arms on Ralph's large, comfortable bed, wearing little more than they'd been wearing the last time that had happened.


	11. Love Story

**I'd intended for this chapter to be longer but oh well. Next chapter has a lot of fluffiness in it. Also this chapter mentions the PeachxBowser ship which is another of my favourites.**

* * *

Of the many people milling around Game Central Station, only a few stopped to look at the spectacle of the wrecker carrying his president across to her game. Those who did stare quickly turned away as the president shot them a glare, and they managed to get into Sugar Rush without any disturbances. Not even Surge stopped them, much to Ralph's relief.

But someone did stop them, someone sour and small and standing at the start of the rainbow road.

"I suppose you can't walk," he estimated, and Vanellope nodded although she could- she just didn't want to have to let Ralph go.

"I'll carry her to the castle and then go back to my game," Ralph promised.

"Fine," the sour candy replied, and led the way back to the castle. Vanellope snuggled into Ralph's arms, her hoodie bunching up around her. Taffyta had been by during the night to drop off the president's clothes, which she'd been very grateful for- she didn't want to wear the dress for too long, so it was currently neatly balled up and shoved in the pocket of Ralph's overalls.

At the castle, Ralph gently set Vanellope down and leaned down to give her a parting kiss.

"Kissing me goodbye at my door, how romantic," she commented with a blush.

"It would have been better if you'd brought her back last night or the night before," Bill commented sourly. "You broke the rules, Ralph."

"I know, I'm sorry," Ralph apologised, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He gave Vanellope her dress and she stepped back to look up at him lovingly.

"I know you might be but little miss here knew the rules too," Bill continued. "You're not allowed to leave the castle for a week except to race."

"What?" she protested, her face changing to one of enraged shock. "I only stayed out for two nights and Ralph brought me back before the arcade opened!"

"You still stayed out," Bill reminded her sternly. "This time, I'll glitch-proof the bars as well so you can't get out." She paled and Ralph thought she was going to faint but instead she merely turned and headed for her bedroom. Minutes later, a slam resounded through the castle and shook it to its very foundations.

* * *

Vanellope sat on her bed sulking and trying to stare a hole through the magazine in her hands. Taffyta had brought her some magazines after learning that the president was effectively grounded, and the blonde racer was still lounging on the end of the large bed.

"Careful, you might burn it with that look," she gently told her friend. Vanellope didn't even crack a smile.

"I'm stuck in my room for a week except for when I have a race," the president grumbled. "All because I spent two nights with Ralph."

"Did you do that adult thing?" Taffyta asked, tapping her fingers together as a mischievous grin spread across her face.

"Yeah," Vanellope admitted, hiding her blushing face behind the magazine. "We did that the first night. It was so much fun even though I couldn't walk yesterday. I could barely even move."

"And now you can't move from the castle," Taffyta added, causing her to groan.

"So how was your date with Rancis?" Vanellope finally asked after a few more minutes of silence.

"Fun," Taffyta smiled. "We danced in your ballroom, which you really should use by the way, and then we talked for a while." Vanellope smiled at her friend's successful date.

"I'm happy for you," she grinned. "Oh, and that dress you made me wear? Ralph loved it. He even felt guilty about breaking the strings on it to get it off, so he got Felix to fix it."

"I thought it would," the blonde grinned triumphantly. "I'm gonna dress you for every one of your dates now."

"I'd like that," Vanellope agreed gratefully. "You really know what a guy likes, Taff. It's good to have a friend like you."

"Thanks," the other racer smiled, and they continued talking into the night over popcorn and ice cream that Vanellope requested from the kitchen.

* * *

That night was Bad-anon night, which Ralph attended with much more enthusiasm than he had previously.

"You look happy, Ralph," Zangief commented, "Is good to see."

"Yeah, well, I just spent the last two nights with the president of Sugar Rush so it's hard not to be happy," he agreed, smiling at the thought of his girl.

"So the rumours are true, then. At least I'm not the only bad guy dating a princess now," Bowser observed.

"I always thought bad guys didn't get princesses but I guess I was wrong," the wrecker shrugged.

"She has a good heart, Ralph. She could see your good side even when everyone else could only see you as a villain. Just like Peach did with me," Bowser added. "She's so kind and thoughtful, always baking cakes and reminding everyone of how good I am. Why do you think Mario and I are actually good friends?"

"And my princess already helped me prove to everyone that I'm not a bad guy," Ralph agreed. "I know that she insists on being called president now, but she still has quite a few princess-like qualities. She's pretty and she has her girly moments and her father figure is really overprotective of her."

"The Toads stopped me from seeing Peach for a while to start with but eventually I proved to them that I treated her well and they let me date her freely," the fiery koopa encouraged him.

"Yeah but Vanellope looked like a kid until a while ago. Sour Bill still sees her as one even though she looks older, so he's more protective of her," Ralph argued. "So what can I do?"

"This might be a problem that only she can resolve," Clyde suggested in his very calm, rational voice. He wasn't the designated leader of Bad-anon for nothing. "The only thing that you can do is to be there for her and try not to do anything that might make Bill distrust you."

"You're right," Ralph nodded. "I can't really help her out of this one." They closed with the Bad-anon pledge, which still gave Ralph a warm feeling every time he recited it.


	12. Break Out

Three days later, the president lay on her bed reading a book without really taking in what the story was about. She only read out of boredom- with Taffyta on another date, she had nothing better to do. The castle had a large library, too, and she'd heard that it was good for a president to read.

A tapping at the window caught her attention. Setting the book down, she directed her gaze towards the large window where Sugar Rush's eternal daylight shone in. As she did, a larger rock hit the window and caused several panes of the sugar glass to shatter. Her body shook with giggles at the sound of tinkling glass.

"You're supposed to toss rocks lightly at the window, not break it," she informed Ralph as she walked over to the window and looked down at him standing with another rock poised to throw.

"Well excuse me for forgetting my strength," he huffed, and she giggled gently.

"I'll be right down, wait just a second," she promised, and used one of her deep pink curtains to bypass the shattered window and shimmy down until she reached the red vines climbing the wall of her castle. She managed to climb down a little part of the way but suddenly her foot snagged on a vine and she tilted back in an attempt to free herself. And then she fell until more vines wrapped around her arms, effectively tangling her up in them and breaking her fall. Her heart pounded and she tried to catch her breath, frightened from her near-fall even though Ralph would've undoubtedly caught her anyway.

"Are you okay?" he chuckled up at her. She attempted to move but that slackened the red vines alarmingly, so instead she shook her head and tried not to let her fear show too much.

"Ralph, help me," she requested, attempting to hide her fear but probably failing. So he reached up and gently disentangled her before taking her in his arms and then setting her down. Once her feet touched the ground, she relaxed and wrapped her arms around him tightly. Her heart, which was still hammering, shook her body.

"Hey, it's okay, I've got you," he soothed her, running a hand through her hair even as he cradled her to him. He kissed her and, in time, her trembling ceased.

"I know," she replied, "I'm so glad you're always here to save me." She nuzzled him and they stayed that way in silence for several moments.

"Say, how come you didn't just glitch down to the ground?" Ralph wondered, furrowing his brow.

"I can't," Vanellope admitted. "It's weird but I can't glitch back to my younger self or anywhere. I can't even glitch to change clothes!"

"That is weird," Ralph acknowledged. "Have you checked the Code Room?"

"No," the president pouted. "Bill won't let me in there. He still won't believe that I didn't tamper with my code to get this form."

"I can see why you'd want to but I know that you didn't. I believe you," Ralph assured her.

"Thanks," she smiled. "It's nice to have someone who believes in me. Come with me, I don't wanna spend all night talking outside my room." She led the way around to the castle into a rose garden where candy roses grew, their delightful candy scents perfuming the air. In the middle of the garden, a fountain created a tranquil atmosphere with benches made of hard candy set around it. Vanellope took her boyfriend here and, after finding that the benches did support his bulk, they took a seat near the fountain. She snuggled up to him, a gentle smiling playing about her lips.

"So what's the occasion for bringing me to the royal gardens?" Ralph asked after some time had elapsed. The sound of the fountain relaxed him, as did the warm patch of the girl snuggled up to him.

"I just felt like taking you somewhere nice," she shrugged. "Do I really need a reason for a random act of romance?" She fluttered her eyelashes and Ralph chuckled.

"I guess not," he conceded, and decided to just enjoy his time with her. They didn't sex or dancing or movies- they just had each other, relaxing in the garden, in this perfect moment. And sure, they didn't look like they really fit into the garden- Vanellope was dressed in a black singlet top and pink tracksuit pants, while Ralph wore his usual attire- but they made it work.

From a balcony overlooking the garden, Sour Bill looked somewhat disapprovingly upon the scene below him. Vanellope wasn't supposed to leave her room, yet she'd snuck out to see her boyfriend. But as long as they were near the castle, he could see them. So, with a sigh, he went to call Wynchell and Duncan.

"Keep an eye on the president," he ordered the two donuts. "Make sure she doesn't do anything I won't allow her to do."

"Right, sir," they nodded, and made their way to the balcony to watch the couple below by the fountain.

"Looks like we have guards watching us," Ralph commented, eyeing the balcony when he saw movement on it.

"Of course," Vanellope muttered angrily. "I can't even sit in my own royal rose garden without needing a babysitter." She raised her voice towards the two on the balcony, frowning at them. She was the president, officially in charge of them, so why did Sour Bill think that he could control her life? It was so unfair!

"Hey, it's okay," Ralph soothed her, rubbing her shoulders that shook with sobs. "He'll come around eventually. And in the meantime, you have me." She smiled through her tears and a mischievous twinkle shone through. Feeling a little naughty, Vanellope decided to give her guards a little show. So, licking her lips, she practically threw herself on Ralph and kissed him fiercely and noisily. Her hands ran down his sides, over his strong muscles, and she found herself immensely enjoying the rising heat and passion. Her heart pounded, turning her face a deep red, and she could hear that she wasn't the only one breathing heavily. She could also feel that the kiss was affecting both of them on a more primal level.

To her relief, the donut cop guards had turned their backs out of disgust at the very public display of affection.

"C'mon, now's our chance to make a break for it," she hissed to Ralph, and jumped up to run out of the garden with his hand clamped in hers.

They ran until they reached a hedge maze where they could hide among the minty leaves and rich chocolate soil.

"Chocolate? Really?" Ralph commented, frowning. Vanellope slapped herself in the forehead, having forgotten that her wrecker wasn't all too fond of chocolate.

"Come with me, there's vanilla in the centre," Vanellope assured him, leading him through the maze.

"Could we just go through the walls of the maze to find the centre?" Ralph asked, brushing his hand along the mint leaves.

"Nah, it'll be harder for them to find us if we go through the maze properly. Besides, I'm the ruler of this game so I know this maze like the back of my hand," she replied, grinning at him. "We'll get there soon, trust me."

"If you say so," the wrecker shrugged, and allowed his girlfriend to lead him through the twists and turns of the maze. A few times they came to a dead-end, but Ralph had to admit that Vanellope found the centre of the maze much faster than anyone else would have.

"We're here," she grinned as they finally stepped onto the vanilla soil. "Now, I think we both know what we want..."

* * *

**Next part will be in The Next Level and then there'll be another one here. Glad to see that pretty much each update brings more followers. **


	13. It's In My Code

Vanellope was locked in her room for a week, but she didn't mind. Her last experience with Ralph had been so sweet and filled with sensations that she knew would stay with her for a long time. He became all that she could think of, and many times she considered trying to find a way out of her punishment. But she'd snuck off and it had been worth it, so she had to put up with her current position. Often, she found herself smiling at seemingly nothing as she remembered the way he'd saved her again from the red vines, and how he'd willingly followed her into the centre of the Choc-mint maze.

"You look happy." Vanellope turned her head and noticed her best friend standing in the doorway to her room. How she'd got past the guards, Vanellope didn't know, but Taffyta could be quite persuasive when she wanted to be.

"That's because I am," Vanellope grinned. "I may be stuck in my room but at least I have Ralph to think about."

"I heard about why you got locked up," Taffyta smirked. "Was it good?"

"Yes," the president blushed, picking up a pink silk pillow and hugging it. "I love doing that with him."

"I'm jealous," Taffyta laughed. "I get to spend time with Rancis when the day ends, though. You can't even ask someone to send Ralph over so he can toss rocks at your window and talk to you."

"He tried tossing rocks at the window before and ended up breaking the glass," Vanellope reminded her with a laugh. "I hadn't thought of asking someone to send him over, though. Why can't he come over?"

"Bill asked Surge not to let him into your game." Vanellope furrowed her brow at this knowledge, annoyed at Bill's actions.

"I'll give him a piece of my mind," the president muttered angrily, getting off her bed and stomping barefoot over to the door. In the hall, she saw that her guards had been pacified with lolly pops and looked suspiciously like they were asleep. But she merely spared them a glance on her way to the room where she knew Sour Bill spent his time handling the affairs of the kingdom.

"Bill!" she demanded, slamming the door open so hard it cracked against the wall. The royal advisor scrambled to his feet, standing on the desk to look at her as she glared down at him with her hands on her hips.

"Yes, princess?" he replied, his expression as dull as ever. Vanellope bristled at the use of her title and his lack of interest.

"Why can't Ralph come into my game?" she demanded of him.

"Well, until I figure out how you managed to tamper with your code, I don't trust you two being alone," he frowned.

"You're not even trying to figure it out!" she roared, swatting at him. But he jumped so her hand glided under him. Fuming, the president stomped out of the room and made her way towards the Code Room. She knew the code, of course, as every good protagonist did, and in almost no time she was floating among the code with a red vine tied snugly around her waist.

Her icon was floating right in the centre, the biggest of all of them. Tapping it brought up some other icons, which she flicked through until she found one with an image of her glitch on it. It looked like a flash and was labelled 'Teleport'. For some reason, the function was switched to 'off' and the switch wouldn't budge, no matter how much she tried sliding her finger across it. She frowned in confusion and floated back out, missing the other icon floating among the many icons in her code.

"Well, did you find out what's wrong?" Sour Bill asked, waiting outside in the throne room for her.

"My teleport is stuck in the off position for some reason," Vanellope explained, heading back to her room. "I'll just go back to my room now."

"Wait." She wouldn't let herself show her excitement, but suddenly she felt a rush that only came with great happiness or racing. So she turned to look at her advisor.

"Yes?" she prompted, shoving her hands into her hoodie pocket and crossing her fingers for luck.

"You can see Ralph again," Bill sighed, closing his eyes as she squealed excitedly and jumped up and down on the spot in her excitement.

"Thank you, Bill!" she cheered, and would've hugged him if he wasn't too small to do so. Without any further hesitation, the president ran out of the castle and into Fix-it Felix Jr, where she headed straight for the shack where her boyfriend lived.

"Vanellope? I thought you weren't allowed out of your game," Ralph commented as the blur of mint, white and black hurled herself at him and clung to him like the sticky candy that coated her hair.

"I know but I found out that my teleport is stuck in the 'off' switch for some reason so Bill let me go," she beamed, talking half into his shoulder. It had been far too long since she'd last been able to wrap her arms around him.

"That's pretty odd. So your glitch is actually called a teleport huh?" Ralph figured, embracing her gently and marvelling at the softness that he now knew held hidden strength.

"Mm-hm," she nodded, stepping back a little to look at him. He ran a hand through her hair, tangled now from running, and cupped her face gently with one large hand. She nuzzled into the warmth, feeling her cheeks heat up in a blush.

"I guess Bill will try to find out what's blocking your teleport," Ralph assumed. Vanellope snorted.

"Don't count on it," she scoffed. "I had to go into the Code Room myself to figure out why I couldn't gl- teleport."

"Well, at least this time while you wait you can spend time with me," Ralph assured her. She smiled and once again snuggled up to him. It didn't matter how long it took Bill to figure out the problem stopping her from teleporting, now that she could spend all her time with her favourite bad guy.


	14. Date Night

Bad Anon night came around a lot sooner than either of them wanted it to. With racing out of the question until she could teleport again, Vanellope spent most of her time in Ralph's shack either resting from a fun night or trying to add her own personal touch to the place. She'd already put some mint-green curtains in Ralph's bedroom window, as well as adding a few bowls of candy around the place. The sweet stuff made her feel more like she was home, reminding her both of the tracks and of her own castle.

While Ralph was at his Bad Anon meeting, Sugar Rush's president sat on her boyfriend's lounge and ate from a mysteriously-bottomless bowl of candy while watching a DVD that Ralph had got from Skrillex. He'd got some more for her after she'd gained her freedom from the castle, as she'd requested due to her mounting boredom. She couldn't race, she couldn't spend the day with him, and she didn't exactly want to spend more time in the castle after having been stuck there for a while. She supposed that she could always talk to Taffyta, but she was feeling particularly lazy.

The front door opened (a lot smoother now that Felix had insisted upon fixing it so that a proper lady could reside there) and Vanellope looked up from the TV, swallowing the last of a peppermint candy.

"Hey, President Smartypants, do you feel like going out for dinner tomorrow night?" Ralph asked, scooping her up and then replacing her on his lap as he sat down on the lounge.

"Sure," Vanellope grinned. "It's better than being cooped up inside watching movies and eating too much candy."

"You're the one who refuses to go anywhere or do anything else," Ralph reminded her, and she laughed.

"So where are we going tomorrow night?" she wondered, nuzzling into his chest.

"Into Mario's game," Ralph informed her. "Bowser invited us over and Peach is going to have her Toads cook a meal for us all."

"Oh, so like a double-date," Vanellope figured, nodding. "It sounds nice. I don't know how I'll get along with Peach, though, considering she's such a princess."

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Ralph shrugged, and stroked her hair. Vanellope smiled at his gentle touch.

"Wait, so who are we going on a double-date with? Mario and Peach?" Vanellope asked, slightly confused.

"No, it's actually Peach and Bowser," Ralph corrected. "They've been dating for a lot longer than we have, probably even longer than you've been plugged in."

"So bad guys can have princesses," Vanellope declared with a giggle. "That's nice to know."

When the time for dinner finally came around the following evening, Vanellope stood in Ralph's bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She hoped that she hadn't dressed up too much or too little for the dinner, and quite frankly she was more than a little nervous. She wished that she'd asked for Taffyta's opinion but her best friend had been on the roster and she'd fallen asleep watching a movie around the time the arcade closed. Regardless, her dress did look quite nice- it was her trademark mint-green colour with a low neckline, sleeves that reached her elbows, and skirts that were neither too puffy nor too slight. Standing side-on, she frowned at the slight pudginess of her stomach but decided that there was nothing she could do about it short of wearing a corset. It was her own fault for eating nothing but candy for so long. As an afterthought, she removed the red liquorice from her hair and ran her fingers through the black locks.

"Are you ready yet?" Ralph asked when she opened the door and walked out of the bathroom.

"I guess," Vanellope shrugged, though she still wasn't entirely happy with her appearance. She wanted to wear her hair up, but then it would make her neck look too long.

"I think your outfit's missing something," Ralph mused, rubbing his chin with his hand. He was already dressed, of course, in a pair of black dress pants and an orange button-up shirt. Even his hair looked alright, combed back rather than messy. "Wait here for a second."

"Okay," Vanellope smiled, and watched as he walked away into his bedroom. He rummaged around for something but finally emerged with a large black box. He handed it to her wordlessly and Vanellope opened it curiously, her eyes widening at the sight within. It was a necklace with a very thin gold chain, a jewel-studded crown shape hanging from it.

"Do you like it?" Ralph prompted, fidgeting nervously.

"I love it," Vanellope finally grinned, and threw her arms around him with the box still clutched in one hand. "Hold on while I put my hair up, this was exactly what I needed to complete my outfit." And Ralph waited patiently as she zipped back into the bathroom and placed the box carefully on the bathroom cupboard and pulled her hair back into a ponytail much like her usual messy one only without the sweets. Finally, she added some candies here and there for decoration and fumbled with her necklace before Ralph stepped in behind her and saved the day.

"Let me do it," he said gently, somehow managing to work the delicate clasp so that the necklace sat against her warm skin and glinted in the bathroom light. Vanellope had to admit that the necklace was beautiful.

"It sure beats that cookie medal I gave you," Vanellope joked, turning to wrap her arms around him comfortably.

"Hey, that medal looked pretty good for being made by a little kid," Ralph assured her. "I still have it, too. I wore it for a long time until it broke, then Felix fixed it and it's been in a special box in my bedroom ever since."

"And where did you get my necklace? I don't think you made it," Vanellope laughed. "Your huge hands could never make something this delicate."

"Bowser gave it to me to give to you. It was Peach's idea," he shrugged. "So, shall we go now? We don't want to keep the other two waiting. And I happen to know that Peach has baked a cake, and they're very nice. Nicer than Mary's."

"Is that even possible?" Vanellope laughed. "Mary's the best baker in the arcade."

"Then you've never tried Peach's baking," Ralph replied, and took her smaller hand in his. Vanellope followed him out of the bathroom and, after turning all but the main light out, the two of them walked to the train station and were soon on their way into Mario's game.

At the castle, Vanellope looked around in awe at a castle that was every bit as princess-y as hers only not made of candy. The red carpet was a nice touch, and the stained-glass windows were beautiful. She wondered if they were as tasty as hers, but doubted it. Her stained-glass windows were made of sugar-glass, where these were most likely made of actual glass.

"This is a nice castle, isn't it?" Ralph prompted, and she nodded and closed her mouth which had been open in awe at her surroundings. Everything was just so... pretty.

"Oh, you must be the princess's guests," a Toad greeted them. Vanellope looked down at the strange little character, a little confused before she realised that her own butler was a talking sour candy so a talking toadstool wasn't that strange in retrospect.

"Yes, we are. I'm Vanellope and this is Ralph, we came here for a dinner date," Vanellope informed the butler.

"So you'll be looking for your host, no doubt. Come with me, she's in the dining room with Bowser." The Toad looked a little uncomfortable at the company the princess was keeping, and Vanellope smiled in mirth at his disapproval. She knew that feeling but if Peach could assert her right to date a bad guy, then so could she.

"Vanellope, Ralph, so glad you could make it," Peach greeted them, getting up from where she was sitting and walking towards the duo as they entered the room. She embraced her fellow princess and gave Ralph a hug as well for good measure before ushering them towards the table. "Come, take a seat. The Toads should be bringing out the first course any minute."

"Good thing I laid off the candy today," Vanellope smiled, taking a seat beside her date. She couldn't help but notice that the other two were seated very close together.

"She's been eating it practically non-stop," Ralph agreed with a laugh, and the koopa king smiled.

"Peach eats half of what she bakes as well," he commented, and laughed.

"It must be good, being the princess of a candy kingdom," Peach enthused, drawing Vanellope's attention away from the conversation between the two villains.

"It has its upsides, that's for sure," Vanellope agreed with a smile. "I get to eat all the candy I want whenever I want."

"Do you get out amongst your subjects very often?" Peach wondered.

"Well, yeah, considering I race with the other racers," Vanellope nodded, already feeling out-of-place. Here was Peach, talking about subjects and ruling, when Vanellope had little idea on how to rule or treat her peers as subjects.

"That's nice," Peach smiled, picking up a teacup in front of her and taking a sip. "Did you have a programmed boyfriend as well?"

"Not that I know of," Vanellope shrugged. "You heard about what happened to my game a while ago, didn't you?"

"Yes, the whole Cybug fiasco. That must have been awful," Peach sympathised. "I heard that you didn't get your memory back after Turbo took over your game, too."

"His clumsiness cost me everything," Vanellope laughed, although she didn't much feel like laughing. "I'm so glad I have Ralph, though. He's helping me remember some things, and I have the other racers to tell me about what I was like before my memories were erased."

"Well, that's what we're here to talk about, isn't it? Our partners," Peach recalled, grinning in a very un-princess fashion.

"Yeah," Vanellope agreed, perking up again. "Was Bowser also misunderstood before you saw the good in him?"

"Yes," Peach confirmed, nodding. "The poor guy was so used to being hurt by Mario. While the big hero was on his way to rescue me, the bad guy always had to worry about how he was going to try to beat him. Then one day I decided to try talking to him."

"And the rest is history?" Vanellope guessed, seeing the way the princess was looking at her game's bad guy.

"I suppose so," Peach smiled gently. "Did you and Ralph have a similar meeting?"

"No, he came to my game looking to be a good guy," Vanellope informed her. "He crashed a spaceship near where I was in the candy tree forest, then I stole his medal and used it as a coin to enter a race. He taught me how to race, he taught me how to believe in myself, and he taught me how to control my teleport."

"I think I remember being told about that," Peach nodded. "Ralph told the Bad Anon group about it and then Bowser came back and told me about it. With a meeting like that, you two will have a solid relationship."

The first course was finally brought out, halting their conversations so that they could eat. Vanellope looked in slight confusion at the plate of mushrooms with a buttery sauce and poked a larger mushroom with her fork. Everyone else was eating with gusto, though, so the president took a bite out of a mushroom and quickly joined in. The buttery taste may not have been as sweet as what she was accustomed to, but it did taste quite nice. And, all of a sudden, she was starving.

The rest of the meals were much like the first one, with mushrooms comprising a large amount of each dish. The mushroom-stuffed chicken was the most unusual dish, but there were at least vegetables on the dish to balance out the taste. To Vanellope's surprise, the cake had nothing to do with mushrooms. Rather, it was a dark chocolate cake with mint-green icing.

"Did you base this cake on us?" she asked the princess who'd baked it, and Peach giggled and nodded.

"When Bowser said that the two of you were an official couple, I just had to celebrate," the pink princess explained. "I also gave Felix and his wife a dinner when they first started dating."

"She's a real sweetheart," Bowser commented, and kissed her on the cheek. The princess made a slight noise of surprise and her cheeks flushed bright pink, much to the amusement of Vanellope.

By the end of the night, it was clear that Peach was an excellent dinner host as well as an excellent baker of cakes.

"Thanks for inviting us over, Peach. I had a great time," Ralph thanked the princess as they stood before the front doors of the castle.

"Oh, it was no trouble," Peach smiled bashfully. "Like I said before, I just had to invite the new couple to have dinner at my castle."

"Dinner was delicious," Vanellope agreed, placing a hand on her stomach which felt so full that she was now glad she hadn't eaten before coming here.

"And I get to eat like this every night," Bowser agreed, wrapping an arm around Peach and pulling her closer to him. The princess kissed him on the cheek before bidding the couple farewell and making her way up the staircase with her partner. Ralph and Vanellope left the castle holding hands, and they didn't stop holding hands until they got back to the shack. There, they relaxed together on the lounge until Ralph had to carry his sleeping girlfriend to his bedroom and tuck her into bed before climbing in to rest beside her.

* * *

**This was such a long time coming but hopefully the wait makes up for it. Sorry if any wording is clumsy. And I get to include my favourite ship from the Marioverse, I absolutely adore Powser. It's simply adorable. To be honest I was stumped for what to do this chapter until I looked back at my first ever Jawbreaker story (Sugar Sweet) and then I decided to have them go on a date. So hopefully you enjoyed this chapter. If you have any ideas for the next chapter, feel free to leave them in a review!**


	15. Friendship and Mystery

After being in Peach's castle, Vanellope began to realise just how much she was missing her own castle. So rather than staying in Ralph's shack for another day, the following game day Vanellope made her way across Game Central Station and back into her own game. While she was there, she planned to pick up her kart and maybe race a little- her code seemed to be itching with the urge to race.

"Hey, Surge," she greeted him as she passed him. He barely spared her a glance before turning back to his clipboard, but the look he gave her seemed to be one of annoyance. She poked her tongue out at him and skipped into her game, a smile spreading over her face as she inhaled her game's sweet air. While she felt at home with Ralph, this here was her true home.

Even the castle, which formerly felt like her prison, was a sight for sore eyes. As she walked up the road to her castle, she couldn't take her eyes off the magnificent structure rising in the distance. The gates had been returned to their former state, and even the Oreo guards looked more relaxed. But that only lasted until they caught sight of their princess.

"Princess Vanellope, Sour Bill has been requesting your presence for a week now," one of them informed her sternly as he marched her into the castle.

"Oh, c'mon, I was at Ralph's. He knew that," she muttered angrily. "He could've come to Ralph's shack and knocked on the door and I would've answered."

"See, Bill, I told you she'd come back on her own. You owe me five game coins," a familiar blonde girl could be heard saying a little further ahead in the throne room. Excited at hearing her friend's voice, Vanellope broke free from the guards and ran into the throne room on her own.

"I wasn't aware that there was a bet," Sour Bill frowned up at the girl, but wandered away anyway to fetch the five coins.

"Hey, Van," her best friend greeted her, and Vanellope grinned at her.

"Hey, Taff," she replied, crouching down and hugging her. She felt like she was hugging a child, a fact that amused her slightly.

"So, how's it been living with Ralph?" Taffyta asked, and there seemed to be a teasing note in the girl's voice.

"Pretty lazy," Vanellope shrugged. "I mainly just sit around watching DVDs and eating candy all day. It is nice, though, getting to be around him all the time." She giggled slightly. "His whole shack smells of vanilla. You should come over sometimes and see what I've done with the place."

"I'm sure it looks much better with a woman's touch, even if it is yours," Taffyta smirked slightly. "I've been staying in the castle while you were gone, I hope you don't mind. I just really like it here, you know?"

"Why not just live here, then?" Vanellope offered. "There's plenty of room and you seem more like a princess than I do anyway."

"Really?" Taffyta gasped excitedly. "I'd love to live here! Thanks, Van!" She jumped up and hugged her friend, causing Vanellope to giggle.

"If you're finished," Sour Bill drawled, and Vanellope looked back down at him.

"Yeah, we're finished," she replied, watching as the sour candy gave five coins to Taffyta.

"Good. I think I've figured out why you can't glitch but we'd have to see the nurses to know for sure," he explained, gesturing for her to follow him to the wing of the castle that held the hospital.

"Nurses? But I'm not sick," she protested, starting after him. "I've been sleeping more often but I've been keeping up my candy intake." Every Sugar Rush racer knew that they had to eat a certain amount of candy every day to stay healthy.

"Like I said, I don't know for sure but the nurses will figure it out," he informed her with a sigh. "I hope that I'm wrong."

"But what do you think it is?" Vanellope demanded.

"You've been sleeping with Ralph," he reminded her. "Have you and the other racers only been focusing on the fun part of having sex?" Vanellope flinched- it felt strange hearing her advisor talking about that subject.

"Maybe," she muttered, folding her arms across her chest. "So what if I have?"

"Princess," Sour Bill groaned. "I really should have had someone in the castle teach you about this while you were locked away here after you first altered your age."

"Teach me about what?" Vanellope asked with a growl.

"The nurses will tell you," he assured her. "Even if I'm wrong, they'll still tell you because I asked them to."

They reached the hospital and Vanellope stepped into the clean, polished room. Her usual attire of a hoodie, skirt, and stockings made her feel strangely unkempt in this very tidy room. As she stepped forward, she ran a hand nervously through her hair. A nurse stepped forward to greet her, looking professional yet motherly in her pink-and-white striped dress and pale pink hair.

"Good morning, princess," she greeted her, bowing her head slightly in reverence. Vanellope didn't appreciate the gesture but smiled regardless.

"Good morning," she greeted the nurse. "Sour Bill brought me here, he said that you had something to tell me?"

"Well, sure, we just have to run some tests," the nurse explained, and led her towards a plain-looking hospital bed. Vanellope took a seat on it, watching the smaller Sugar Rush resident walk away from her. The girl returned with some kind of a machine which she hooked up before fetching a small tub of some kind of gel.

"This isn't gonna hurt, is it?" Vanellope worried, eyeing the machine with uncertainty.

"No, it won't hurt at all," the nurse assured her with a kind smile. And then she began to look uncertain. "Wait, maybe I should ask you some questions first. I'm sorry, I'm still just a candy striper."

"It's okay," Vanellope assured her with a soft chuckle. "I'm still new to this whole ruling thing too."

"Okay, so have you been getting any weird cravings or putting on weight?" the girl asked, nervously brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

"No, I've just been eating candy like I normally do. I figured that that's the reason I put on weight and the only strange thing is that I've been particularly eating the peppermints," Vanellope responded easily.

"Sugar Rush residents don't put on weight from eating candy," the nurse pointed out. "Bill told me that you've been getting intimate with your boyfriend, too."

"He told you that, huh?" Vanellope asked, glaring at her advisor. "But what's all that got to do with why I can't glitch?"

"I'm surprised you haven't put two and two together yet," the nurse giggled. "Don't you know where babies come from, princess?"

"Obviously not," Vanellope replied, but then she fell silent as she finally put two and two together. While she was young, she wasn't exactly stupid. The nurse watched as comprehension dawned on her face.

"Yes, princess, you're going to have a baby," the nurse announced. "At least, I'm pretty sure you are. I'll just do an ultrasound to find out for sure. And then we'll be able to find out how many you're having." Vanellope nodded, slightly nervous now but still trying to wrap her head around it. She didn't even know that it was possible to create a whole other person just by doing what she and Ralph did almost every night.

"Now I see why that explanation is necessary," she mumbled, and followed the nurse's instructions to lie down and lift her hoodie to expose her stomach. "Would all my sleeping have something to do with this too? I just figured that I was sleeping because I had nothing better to do but I'm tired almost all the time."

"Yes, that would have something to do with it," the nurse confirmed. "Pregnant women sleep a lot, have cravings, obviously put on some weight, and then there's the morning sickness and other uncomfortable things that happen as you get further along."

"Morning sickness doesn't sound all that pleasant," Vanellope commented, and gasped as the nurse rubbed some of the cold gel onto her stomach. She shivered but then, as the wand-like device slid over her stomach, she heard a strange thumping sound like a heartbeat.

"Well, that confirms it," the nurse grinned. "You are pregnant. Now I can tell you all about how this happened and, more importantly, what you can expect to happen until you give birth."

Two uncomfortable explanations later, Vanellope walked out of the hospital feeling quite shaken and a little sick. The nurse had explained that her teleport was turned off to protect the new life inside her, and that she was a few weeks into her pregnancy. She didn't know whether she was mature enough to be a mother, but surely Ralph could play the part of the responsible father. And if all else failed, there was always Felix to go to for advice.

Sour Bill was saying something. Vanellope blinked and shook her head to clear it.

"Sorry, I wasn't listening," she admitted sheepishly. "I was still trying to come to terms with being pregnant and all."

"That's understandable," Bill sighed. "Now do you see why I was trying to keep you away from Ralph?"

"Yeah," she replied, hanging her head. "If I'd known this, though, I probably wouldn't have done anything differently. But why didn't Ralph know this? He's programmed to be older than me."

"In case you hadn't noticed, Ralph had about the same social life as you did back when you were a glitch," Bill figured. "He probably never learned about this stuff. Felix should've told him, though."

"Well, I guess I'll find out when I tell him," Vanellope figured with a shrug. "Like I said, though, this still would've happened even if we'd both known that it could. I wanted to do that stuff with him and if we're going to be parents because of it, so be it."

"You're mature for your age," Bill commented. "Your father would be proud. So would your mother."

"Really?" Vanellope smiled.

"Yes," Bill confirmed. "Your mother was young too when she had you."

"Hey, do you think other girls in the arcade have had or are having babies too?" Vanellope wondered, brightening. If they were, she wouldn't have to go through this alone.

"You'd have to ask," Sour Bill answered. "You'd better get back to Ralph to tell him the news, though."

"News? What news?" Taffyta seemed to be even better at hiding than Vanellope was. She seemed to suddenly appear in the middle of a corridor.

"Who better to tell than a best friend?" Vanellope laughed with a shrug. Sour Bill sighed and walked on ahead, leaving the two girls standing in the hallway.

"Tell what? Tell me," Taffyta requested, looking up at her. "Why were you in the hospital for so long?"

"I'm going to have a baby, Taff," Vanellope explained, noticing that the words no longer felt so strange coming from her mouth. It occurred to her too late that Taffyta might not know what that meant.

"Ha! Bill owes me another ten game coins," the girl grinned. "Anyway, I guess I should congratulate you. You're going to be a mother and I'll have a little kid to dress up."

"Am I the only one in the arcade who didn't know about babies before?" Vanellope whined.

"Nah, I overheard him talking about it and then asked one of the nurses what pregnancy was. I figured that there was a good chance you were pregnant considering the amount of times you and Ralph did adult things," Taffyta explained. "When I found out about babies, though, was when I asked Peach. Now I really wish you had your glitch so you could glitch me and Rancis into adults and then we could have kids of our own."

"Well, you'll just have to wait a while," Vanellope laughed. She began to feel a little tired, though, so turned down a corridor that led to her royal garage where she kept her kart.

"I should've brought your kart over to Ralph's but I kept getting distracted," Taffyta commented. "You must really miss racing, huh?"

"Yep," Vanellope confirmed, running a hand along the top of her kart and trying to figure out by sight if she could fit into it. There was only one way to find out for sure, though. So she attempted to get into her kart. With her larger frame, this was quite difficult, and in the end she was squeezed in with her knees almost under her chin.

"Do you want me to drive you back over to Ralph's?" Taffyta giggled.

"Yes," Vanellope decided, and yawned. "Don't crash my kart, Taff." She managed to wriggle out and sat on the back of her kart where Ralph had sat every time she'd driven him somewhere.

"I won't," Taffyta promised, and got into her kart easily. Seconds later, they were on the road out of the castle and Vanellope smiled at the feeling of wind blowing in her face and through her hair. She might not be able to drive her kart for a few months but, with a friend like Taffyta, that might not end up mattering much.


	16. Little Talks

While Vanellope had been in her game, Ralph had decided to go over to Litwak's Laptop where Skrillex resided to get some more DVDs for his lover. She'd already seen every DVD at least once (or so he thought, she usually slept through them though) so was undoubtedly waiting for more to watch.

When he walked in the door this time, rather than sleeping, Vanellope was looking a strange mixture of nervous and excited. Perched on the edge of the couch, she chewed her lip but her eyes were sparkling. She looked less tired than ever.

"You're home," she cheered, jumping off the couch and running over to hug him around the neck. Ralph was almost knocked over from her size and speed but, laughing, he set the DVDs down on top of the television and wrapped his arms supportively around her lower back before spinning her around. Her hair swung around wildly, almost as wild as her laughter. Finally, he tossed her gently onto the couch and leaned down to kiss her gently. She returned it breathlessly.

"You look excited," Ralph commented, noting that even her skin looked brighter. She looked like she'd got some sunlight, and she smelled sweeter. Almost like... "Have you been back to Sugar Rush?"

"Yeah," she replied, flashing him a grin. "I decided to go see Taffyta again and while I was there, I found out something." At her more serious face, Ralph lifted her feet and then sat down, replacing them over his legs.

"What is it?" he prompted, looking at her with his warm brown gaze.

"Well, Sour Bill finally found out why I can't glitch anymore and it's because of what we've been doing since I grew myself up," she explained, drawing her knees to her chest and looking at him nervously. She hoped that he'd make the connection on his own.

"Oh," he said quietly as the realisation dawned on him. "I didn't know it could happen either until Felix mentioned it a few days ago. He said that you were lazing about like you were pregnant or something. And now I know that you are."

"So are you happy?" she asked meekly. "I was shocked at first, then upset, but now I'm really happy. We're going to be parents, not that I know what those are really."

"Of course I'm happy," Ralph agreed, taking her in his strong but gentle grip and getting rid of all her fears. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier that this could happen but, like I said, I didn't even know that it was possible. Strange, considering pretty much all our friends are also going to be parents."

"You mean Felix and Calhoun...?" she trailed off. He nodded and Vanellope squealed in excitement.

"That's why he made that comment about you looking pregnant," Ralph revealed. "He said that Tammy looked like that lately."

"What are the chances that Peach is too?" Vanellope joked. To her surprise, Ralph confirmed that she was.

"I won't be the only father at Bad Anon, either," Ralph informed her. "Peach only included so many mushrooms in dinner when we went there because she's been craving them."

"Three mothers," Vanellope commented thoughtfully. "We can all meet up for mother's meetings and trade stories about what's been going on. But first, what DVDs did you get me today?" Ralph smiled at how quickly she could change the subject. Even though she was grown up and pregnant now, she could still talk about different things as randomly as when she was a child.

The two of them spent the rest of the day snuggled up together on the couch, watching the DVDs that Ralph had got from Skrillex. Whether intentionally or not, Ralph had picked a selection of movies about racing

"I'll miss racing," Vanellope commented, sitting with her head resting on Ralph's chest. "The nurse in my game said I'd be stuck this way for a few months, even after I have the baby. As soon as my body returns to normal, though, nobody will be able to stop me from getting on the track and racing until the itch goes away. It's like if you had to stop wrecking for a while, you'd be driven half-crazy by the urge to wreck."

"We could always make you another kart," Ralph suggested. "When we made your old one, that wasn't so hard."

"But there isn't a mould big enough," Vanellope frowned, but then she brightened up. "I did build my own kart before, though, so maybe I can do it again."

"That kart didn't even go very fast," Ralph argued. "Don't you have to go fast to race?"

"Well, this time I have you and Taffyta to help me build another kart. Maybe even Rancis could help," she suggested brightly.

"One day you'll be able to help our child build their first kart," Ralph noted. At that, Vanellope felt a large sense of happiness settle on her chest like a great big bubble. Now the implications of being a mother were truly sinking in- she'd have a little wrecker or racer or maybe a mix of both who she could help raise. She had fond memories of her own father, the real King Candy, teaching her to race and even building her first kart with him. That, in turn, reminded her of how she felt after her father was killed in the accident with the new racer. Annoyed by her sudden change of emotions, the racer wiped her teary eyes and refocused on the movie that was playing.

Ralph had to admit that he wasn't exactly paying attention to the movie. So, when there was a knock at the door, he felt some relief as he got up to answer it.

"Hi there, brother," Felix greeted him chirpily. Only Felix could be this chipper so late at night.

"Hey, Felix," Ralph greeted him in reply with a gentle smile. "What brings you here?"

"Just decided to come over and see how you're doing," Felix shrugged. "Can I come in?"

"Sure, you can take the smaller couch you gave me last week," Ralph nodded, and let the game's hero into his house. Vanellope smiled and greeted him happily as he took a seat.

"So, how have the happy couple been lately?" the handyman inquired.

"Well, let's just say that what you said earlier is true," Vanellope giggled. "I didn't just look pregnant, I am pregnant. I found out earlier today when I went over to Sugar Rush to visit Taff."

"I suppose congratulations are in order, then," Felix chimed. "You're going to be parents just like me and Tammy."

"Thanks," the couple replied, somehow speaking at the same time. Ralph sat back on the couch and let Vanellope snuggle up to him.

"Won't it look weird on Tammy's game if she's got a big belly?" Vanellope wondered.

"That's what she's worried about," Felix admitted with a sigh. "I think that she should be okay if she only lets the camera robot look at her from a head-and-shoulders view, though."

"Well, I won't have a problem," Vanellope informed him cheerfully. "The gamers didn't miss me for a long time back when I was a glitch so they won't miss me now."

"That makes sense," Felix nodded.

The three of them sat in silence for some time, just watching the movie in the comfort of each other's presence, until there was the sharp rapping of a sergeant at the door.

"Fix-it! You said you'd only be over here for half an hour at the most," Tamora grumbled, walking into the shack and looking at her husband who was sitting sheepishly on the couch.

"Oh my land, I completely forgot," the handyman chuckled nervously. "Ralph doesn't exactly have a clock in here."

"You should probably go," Ralph agreed, noting that his girlfriend was drifting off to sleep in his arms. "She's had a long day, what with learning she was pregnant and all."

"So she is pregnant. Not surprising," Tamora commented, but smiled at the happy couple. "Looks like my little one will have a playmate."

"Now, we don't know when he or she will be born," Felix reminded her, jumping out of his chair and walking over to hold his wife's hand. "But, judging by how pregnant the two of you look, I'd say that you're probably right."

"I'm always right," Tamora laughed. "C'mon, let's go. The bed is calling our name."

"I think our bed is calling our name too," Ralph commented to Vanellope as the other two left. She made a small noise of recognition but, when he got up with her in his arms, she made a noise of protest and looked at him with big, tired eyes. Her eyes were so beautiful that he almost got lost in them. But finally he snapped himself out of it and took her to bed where she snuggled up to his side and was asleep within minutes. He almost missed her hyperactive self, but it would surely come back one day. Maybe she just needed a fun day out. And that gave him an idea.


	17. Fun in the Sun

Surge clearly did not want to allow Vanellope into Litwak's Laptop. He stood staring sternly at them with his arms crossed firmly over his chest, standing right in the middle of the game's gate.

"Aw, c'mon, you killjoy, I'm over eighteen now!" Vanellope complained loudly. It seemed like arguing with someone was re-energising her. Of course, the long trek to this game could have had something to do with this too.

"Mentally as well?" Surge asked, looking to Ralph for confirmation.

"Yes," he confirmed with a nod. "She doesn't just look like a woman, she is one."

"And do you think she's okay to go around this game?" he continued, pulling out his clipboard.

"We're only going to the beaches and maybe to the roller rink," Ralph responded. "I promise you, we won't go anywhere near those clubs." He'd spoken to the nurse who'd discovered Vanellope's pregnancy and she'd told him the things to avoid and the things to have more of. It came as no surprise that she'd have to eat more candy than usual.

"You'd better not," Surge commented, and disappeared back into the grid. With him out of the way, the pair walked into the game and were soon in E-Z Living. Even the bright sunshine of the game was enough to bring out the colour in Vanellope's skin, as well as the sparkles in her eyes.

"I've gotta admit, it's a lot different here during the daytime," Vanellope smiled, looking around at everything. It was hard to take it all in. The sunshine, the sounds, the sights, the people! It was so different to any other game, but in a good way.

"It's also a lot different away from the clubs," Ralph added, his hand curling arounds hers. She smiled, feeling a thrill of happiness at the action. Last time, he'd come here to be with other girls. But now... now, he was with her! And she couldn't be happier.

"So where to first? You know this place better than I do, which is strange for a socially-awkward lump like you," she asked, unable to resist a jab at him.

"Hey, I have a life outside my game! Well, I do now that I became a big hero saving your butt," he retorted, punctuating his remark with a gentle pat on her bottom.

"Hey!" she squeaked, and mock-glared at him. He laughed and walked ahead with her trailing behind only slightly, still taking in the sights with large eyes.

Down a few roads and along a boardwalk, the beach finally came into view as a wide expanse of pure white sand with light blue waves crashing on the sand. Every few feet along the beach, characters lazed about on towels. Some had umbrellas over them, others didn't, and some were reading while others watched the surfers or swimmers enjoying the surf.

"I wish my game had a beach," Vanellope remarked, taking off her shoes so she could feel the sand on the soles of her feet and between her toes. But when she saw her stockinged feet, she frowned. How was she going to feel the sand properly through the material? And without them, her legs would look too pale against her brown skirt.

Upon seeing her attire, Ralph quickly came to the conclusion that his girlfriend would need some more suitable clothing for a beach, maybe a bikini or one-piece swimsuit.

"Actually, why don't we go to the clothing store first?" Ralph suggested, wrapping an arm around her waist to get her attention. She nodded, beaming at him.

There were some stores a little further along the boardwalk and down a road. Here, there were more characters from other games milling about and going between stores with bags filled with items they'd bought.

"I've never seen so much stuff," Vanellope gasped. And then she sobered as she remembered that they'd have to pay for these things. "But how would we get Like-Its?"

"Some residents like seeing happy couples," Ralph shrugged, and turned her around to face him. "So let's show them some happy couple action." He kissed her and, although she was at first taken by surprise, she soon kissed him back and almost melted into him. He was hotter than the sun, hotter than anything she'd ever felt before. But it was a kind of all-consuming heat that burned with fuel from her very heart. It wasn't a painful burn, either, but more of a sweet one like molten chocolate.

When they finally managed to pull apart after a few more gentle pecks, Vanellope felt at once floating and grounded. Ralph, however, felt lighter than he'd ever felt before. It was a new sensation but nonetheless a very good one. He loved this girl, loved her with all his heart and every pixel in his body. She made him feel like he was worth something, like he was more than just a bad guy for probably the oldest game in the arcade. The showering of Like-Its was just an added bonus of displaying his affection for the girl he loved.

At last, Vanellope walked into a store that sold swimwear for women. Although several of the bikinis she browsed through did look quite nice, she didn't exactly feel like showing too much skin for her first excursion to this game. Technically it was her second, but the first one was better off forgotten considering how upset and confused she'd been that night. But, putting that to the back of her mind, Vanellope focused on finding a swimsuit that didn't look too terrible. She frowned as the hangers clacked together, her hand flicking the swimsuits along easily.

"All the swimsuits look horrible," she complained. "Is it so bad to want to wear one instead of a bikini?"

"Obviously," another woman snorted from across the rack. A very familiar woman.

"Calhoun?" Vanellope asked, standing on her toes to look over the rack of ugly swimsuits. The Hero's Duty sergeant looked a lot different dressed in a black singlet top and cargo pants.

"Yep," she smiled, coming around the rack to stand beside Vanellope. "I come here every so often to relax. Felix is around somewhere, I wouldn't know where."

"Ralph took me here to get me out of the house," Vanellope informed her. "It was a good idea. I feel more alert now than I have in ages."

"That's what this place does," Calhoun agreed with a nod. "It re-energises the soul. And after the darkness of my game, a little sunshine's just what I need."

"So why aren't there any decent swimsuits here?" Vanellope wondered, feeling more comfortable in the presence of a friend.

"Probably because the women here have no sense of decency," Calhoun figured, plucking at the fabric of one particularly-ugly green swimsuit. "I mean, I'm not the most fashion-savvy girl around but even I know that these things are uglier than a feral dog's backside."

"Looks like I'll have to wear a bikini, then," Vanellope sighed, but then her eye fell upon a teal swimsuit hidden behind a dark brown one. "Or not..."

After finally finding an acceptable swimsuit, Vanellope asked Ralph to take her to buy a pair of shoes like the ones Calhoun was wearing.

The shoe store was brightly-lit and smelled, undeniably, of shoes. There were so many pretty ones though, like heels studded with fake gemstones and sandals that shimmered with a metallic sheen. But what Vanellope was looking for was further along the back wall of the store. At least they had some shoes she wanted that looked good.

At last, Vanellope was dressed to go to the beach. She got dressed in the public toilets near the beach and, when she emerged with a beach towel wrapped around her waist, Ralph was speechless.

"Vanellope, you look beautiful," he breathed, taking in the sight of her. Her teal swimsuit seemed to set off the green in her eyes, and her flip-flops of the same colour with the tiny fake diamond between the toes showed off her slender feet.

"You really think so?" she asked, a little bashful under his gaze.

"Yes," he replied, sounding surer than he had in a long time. "Out of all the girls on this beach, you're the best-looking of them."

"You have to say that because you're my boyfriend," she laughed, but inside she was feeling very fluttery.

They sat on the beach for some time, watching the waves crashing on the sand, and Vanellope spent some time marvelling at the feeling of sand between her toes. Her game didn't have sand, only the cocoa-dust on the tracks.

"Do you want to sit here all day like this or would you like to see more of this game?" Ralph asked after an hour had passed. The sun seemed to be reflecting off Vanellope's pale skin, but there were some hints of red there as well.

"I am getting a bit hot," she admitted, glancing at the redness on her shoulders. "Is there an indoor place here that's fun?"

"Yeah, they have a roller rink and even an ice skating rink. Which one would you rather go to?" Ralph replied, gently brushing his large fingers over the burned skin on her shoulder.

"Roller as in roller skating?" she asked, her eyes shining brightly with excitement.

"What else?" Ralph chuckled. In a moment, she'd jumped to her feet.

"Let's go roller skating," she grinned, grabbing his hand and squeezing it in her excitement.

Although there were many things E-Z Living had that Sugar Rush didn't, the two games had one thing in common- a roller skating rink. And, as Ralph soon found out, this roller skating rink was used regularly by the Sugar Rush racers. Vanellope strapped her skates on easily enough and rolled out onto the floor with the ease and grace of someone who did it very often. Back in her default outfit, she looked particularly in her element.

Unfortunately, though, Ralph couldn't go skating because there was no pair of skates big enough for him. But he could watch as Vanellope skated around the rink and performed spinning jumps that he was sure would result in disaster. But she managed to pull off many stunts perfectly. It was like watching her learn to race all over again.

"Excuse me, miss, but where did you learn to skate like that?" the spotty teenager watching the rink asked her when she finally rolled back over to the edge and sat on the bench seat beside her boyfriend.

"In my game," she responded with a smile and a nervous twirl of her hair around her finger. "Sugar Rush has its own roller skating rink as well but only the locals know about it. It's kind of a secret."

"Well, you're quite skilled at it," the boy complimented her. She blushed and Ralph took that opportunity to tug her closer and kiss her with his own gente kind of passion. Vanellope smiled into the kiss, enjoying this possessive side of her boyfriend. She should make him jealous more often! But then again, she figured, it wouldn't be a good idea to make Ralph so jealous that he'd accidentally kill someone. So she decided to just enjoy it while it lasted and not put someone in danger.

To Vanellope's surprise, E-Z Living also had a few nice cafes and restaurants. Ralph took her to one of these, something like an ice cream parlour, for a dinner/dessert after their long day in the holiday-themed game.

"Dessert for dinner? You really know how to treat a girl," Vanellope giggled in between spoonfuls of the chocolate sundae. Ralph, still claiming to despise chocolate, had his own caramel sundae.

"Well, what else would a cavity eat?" Ralph figured with a toothy grin. Vanellope giggled again at that. The sweet dessert tasted so good, but Ralph's looked good as well. Formulating a plan, Vanellope let her next spoonful coat her mouth before she leaned across the booth and kissed his lips that were sweet from caramel sauce and ice cream. She almost got caught up in licking the sweetness off his lips, but then she let her tongue venture into his mouth before she could forget her grand plan. Their tongues twined together, swapping sensations and flavours, and Vanellope soon found herself moving across the table to land straddling Ralph's lap. The kiss became more heated, more passionate, definitely something that should be taken to a bedroom before it could become too heated.

"So do you still hate chocolate now?" she smirked triumphantly, licking her lips.

"Your mouth must've made it taste better somehow," he figured, his cheeks flushed so that he looked more sunburnt that his lover.

"It has that effect on anything, no matter what it is," she grinned, sliding her hands down his chest and grinding against him almost unconsciously.

Ralph wanted to take her home as soon as she'd said that, but as always Vanellope had other ideas. Rather than getting up or moving back to her seat, she turned around so she was sitting on his lap and resumed eating her ice cream sundae. From the mischievous glint in her eye and the way she kept shifting to 'get more comfortable', as she put it, there was little doubt in Ralph's mind that she was teasing him. Now, this was the proof that his day out with her had been a success- the old Vanellope was well and truly back.


	18. Sweet Nothings

"Hey Stinkbrain, wake up before I puke all over the floor," Vanellope demanded, shaking her boyfriend's bulk.

Ralph groaned but, unwilling to make his new home smell like his old one, lifted Vanellope into his arms and carried her the few steps over to his bathroom where he set her down on the floor in front of the toilet. His job done, he stood outside the door until she called him back to carry her somewhere else.

"Have you had morning sickness before?" he asked after finally convincing her to brush her teeth.

"No but it was either that or having sex after all that ice cream," she figured with a shrug and giggle.

"Probably both," Ralph agreed. They were sat at his kitchen table, Ralph on the ground and Vanellope perched on a chair.

"So, what's the plan for today?" the racer wondered. "I can't exactly walk, again, and it's not a game day so we can still spend time together."

"I always used to carry you around, I won't mind doing it again. Besides, it's kinda my fault that you can't walk," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Hey, I brought it on myself and it was worth it," Vanellope declared, crossing her arms over her chest with a pout.

"No denying that," Ralph scoffed with a roll of his eyes, and poured them both bowls of the highly-sugary cereal that Vanellope enjoyed so much. Now, they were both eating more than one bowl a morning.

It was decided that the two would spend the day in Sugar Rush, considering Vanellope hadn't really had time to spend with her friends in a while.

Ralph carried Vanellope across to Sugar Rush, glad to find that for once Surge didn't stop them.

Taffyta must have somehow found out that her best friend was visiting, because halfway down the rainbow road her kart came rocketing up to meet them.

"Vanellope, hi!" she squealed happily, somehow managing to turn the kart around on the rainbow road and sending sugar crystals flying everywhere.

"Hey, Taff," Vanellope greeted her with the same amount of happiness. She would have loved to have been able to get down and hug her best friend but, in her current condition, she was only comfortable in the arms of her wrecker.

"About time you came back to visit," Taffyta remarked. "I was just on my way to get you, anyway. We set up a party for you."

"Hopefully it wasn't a surprise one or you just ruined it," the president laughed.

"We did consider making it a surprise one but then we decided to just make it a normal one," the racer admitted. "Anyway, come on, you can't be late to your own party, president."

"Well, you heard the girl- let's go," Vanellope urged Ralph. He chuckled, the motion shaking her slightly, and followed the long road to the castle where the party was undoubtedly going to be held.

Unsurprisingly, it took the two lovers longer to get to the castle so Taffyta was waiting for them when they got there.

"About time," she muttered upon seeing them enter the room, and then she jumped to her feet. "Okay, everyone! Your president has arrived with her boyfriend so the party can start!" Everyone cheered and turned to face the two, offering their congratulations.

Everyone was happy and chattering, their beaming faces warming Vanellope's heart and more than making up for the years of neglect,

"Congratulations, President Vanellope," Candlehead bowed, and produced a chocolate cake with vanilla icing.

"Thanks, Candlehead," Vanellope grinned, taking the small cake into her hands and taking a bite out of it.

"Too bad it's chocolate," Ralph sighed.

"Hey, it's rude to not eat one of Candle's cakes. Now eat up," Vanellope urged, shoving a chunk of cake at his face. He made a disgusted noise and moved his head away but, anticipating this, Vanellope mashed the cake onto his mouth. When he opened his mouth to protest, he ended up eating some. And then his eyes shone with surprise.

"That's not bad," he admitted, breaking off some more cake and eating it. Vanellope giggled and fist-pumped the air in triumph.

"Told ya," she smirked. "Candle bakes the best cakes."

The two of them made their way around the party after that, greeting the milling party guests and replying to all of their questions that they asked. The most popular was 'when are you due' and 'do you know what you're having'. Neither knew the answers to those questions.

"I wonder if Calhoun's getting a party like this too," Vanellope mused as Ralph carried her around.

"Most likely," he figured. "They probably made it a surprise one, too, though I doubt if they'd have been able to keep it a surprise."

As they made their way around, they soon came to the one party guest who wasn't smiling.

"President," he greeted his president, "Ralph."

"Hi, Sour Bill," Vanellope droned in an attempt to mimic his voice. He blinked at her.

"Vanellope, may I talk to Ralph for a moment in private, please?" the sour ball requested. Vanellope considered this for a moment before slowly nodding to Ralph to put her down on one of the plush couches that were scattered around the room.

"So how are you liking your party?" Taffyta asked, approaching her friend with Rancis in tow.

"It's really very nice," Vanellope admitted, resting her arms on her stomach. "I really like the attention."

"It is nice, isn't it?" Rancis agreed. "It's one thing to have the attention of the gamers but having the attention of all your fellow game-members feels pretty good too."

"I feel like one of the popular racers, like you guys," the president admitted with a grin.

"Well, you are," Taffyta informed her with a giggle.

Over on the other side of the room, Sour Bill had taken Ralph to a relatively-quiet area devoid of party guests.

"Ralph, when Vanellope's father died, he asked me to look after his daughter. I was doing a great job of it, too, or so I thought. But then Turbo happened," Sour Bill started, blinking sadly.

"And I saved her from that," Ralph continued.

"Yes, which I am very grateful to you for. But you have to understand, Ralph, that Vanellope is like a daughter to me. And when a girl gets pregnant, the father usually has demands to make of the father of her child," he added, his sour expression becoming uncharacteristically firm.

"What are you trying to say?" Ralph asked, looking down at the sour candy. Sour Bill sighed before jumping up into Ralph's hand. Understanding what he wanted, Ralph raised the candy up in his palm until he was at eye-level with him.

"Ralph, I want you to marry Vanellope," the sour candy demanded. "It isn't proper for a girl, especially a princess, to be an unmarried mother."

"But we're a happy couple," Ralph protested. "It's not like our kid's gonna grow up without both parents."

"Just do this for me," Sour Bill urged him. "I let you see her, I let her go back to you even when I knew what the two of you were doing, now all that I ask is that you take her as your bride."

"Alright," Ralph finally decided. "I'll ask her soon. Do we have to get married before the baby's born?"

"You can marry after the child is born," Sour Bill allowed. "And after she gives birth, remember to use protection. I know games have it." Ralph blushed at that but nodded.

With that considerably awkward conversation out of the way, Ralph made his way back over to his girlfriend and picked her up off the couch. He graced her with a kiss, one which she returned with equal sweetness.

"What did ole sour-puss want?" she asked with a grin.

"Nothing, just reminded me to look after you," Ralph replied. It was only half a lie, at least. They made their way around the party again, chatting to the guests and just generally enjoying the attention.


End file.
